The IEA remains the energy security backbone for OECD plus other member states, all 32 of which hold at least 90 days of net oil imports as strategic reserves. Even though the U.S. is now the world’s largest oil producer, its 411 million barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is the organization’s largest. The SPR has fallen from a 2009 high of 727 million barrels partly due to imprudent draw-downs by the previous Administration to manage prices which overcompensated for the initial oil market jolt caused by Russia’s  cruel war on Ukraine. Mandated SPR sales by Congressional budget hawks over the past decade are also an inconvenient truth to reckon with today as the Strait is being mined and commercial ships are being attacked by Iran.