Teapot Dome scandal Teapot Dome was regarded as the "greatest and most sensational scandal in the history of American politics". It damaged the reputation of the Harding administration, which was already severely diminished by its controversial handling of the Great Railroad Strike of 1922 and Harding's veto of the Bonus Bill in 1922. In the early 20th century, the U.S. Navy largely converted from coal to fuel oil. To ensure that the Navy would always have enough fuel available, several oil-producing areas were designated as naval oil reserves by President Taft. In 1921, President Harding issued an executive order that transferred control of
Oil reserves in the United States Oil reserves in the United States Proven oil reserves in the United States were of crude oil as of the end of 2014, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The 2014 reserves represent the largest US proven reserves since 1972, and a 90% increase in proved reserves since 2008. The Energy Information Administration estimates US undiscovered, technically recoverable oil resources to be an additional 198 billion barrels. US proven oil reserves were as of 2011. The 2011 data represent a 39% increase in proved reserves since 2008, but is 32% lower than the of proven reserves in 1970, when the supergiant