A perplexing aspect is why USA provides a strategic reserve to anyone other than USA. If the answer is "tactical price suppression" then let's change the branding of why USA has these reserves. If the reserves are truly strategic, then don't allow export.
If exporting crude oil that US refiners can't use anyway has the downstream impact of Americans getting the products they need (perhaps due to manufacturing overseas and ocean transport to bring those products here) then it seems like it's reasonably in the public's interest to do so.
I agree that petrol is fantastic. A great part of this federation of States is that if I really don't agree with the direction/taxation of an individual State then I can vote with my feet. It is disappointing that California's experiment with ending internal combustion transport, ending oil refining, and reducing nuclear electricity generation will be bailed out by lower energy prices by everyone else in USA due to the SPR. If the feds get out of commodity speculation and manipulation, the choices by California can shine on their own merits.
Is there some sort of "branding" for strategic reserve I haven't heard of? Wikipedia seems vague enough[1] to not be contrary to this strategy.
As far as I can tell, this is literally the only way to make such a strategy work.