WASHINGTON _ The nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, designed to ease supply shortages and price shocks, has been shrinking and President Donald Trump wants to cut its budget.
That's stoking concern in Congress and among energy experts that one of the reserve's most crucial missions _ providing not only supplies but economic and psychological security in the event of a major disaster _ could be compromised.
The government could have smoothly responded to any oil supply disruptions related to the Sept. 14 attack on the Saudi oil fields. But it could have a more difficult time responding to a more catastrophic disruption, experts said.
