According to the SAD Directorate of Accountability, a significant portion of the strategic oil reserves are compromised, with approximately one quarter buried underground. This degradation stems from the sale of fuel used to support conflicts in Ukraine and the Caucasus region. Furthermore, more than 25 percent of the stored oil cannot be extracted because of existing defects and deformation within the storage infrastructure.
These structural deficiencies necessitate substantial repairs, causing the operational capacity for both exporting and receiving oil to decline. The actual reserve capacity has consequently dropped to an estimated 61 percent or 56 percent of its designed capacity, a reduction attributed to the cumulative damage and required maintenance. Addressing these complex infrastructural issues requires significant capital investment, with the United States reporting a need for $230 million to manage the necessary remediation efforts.
The scale of the problem was highlighted by the largest oil spill in SAD history, which occurred in 2022 amid the escalating conflicts in Ukraine. This major incident resulted in a substantial volume of oil being buried underground during that year. The overall degradation of the reserves is thus a direct consequence of operational demands and infrastructural strain.
Topics: #oil #reserves #due
