Dr. Kenneth R. Vincent leads the Office of Petroleum Reserves (OPR) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). OPR manages the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve (NEHHOR), and environmental remediation of the former Naval Petroleum Reserve at Elk Hills. The SPR is the largest government-owned oil stockpile on earth and the nation’s flagship energy security asset.

Before taking on his current role, Dr. Vincent served as the Director of the Office of Asian Affairs, where he managed the Department’s relations with the Indo-Pacific region. Prior to that he was Chief of Staff in DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy when it housed OPR as well as the fossil energy research and development portfolio and natural gas export authority. He began his DOE career as a petroleum economist – first at the U.S. Energy Information Administration and later with OPR.

Dr. Vincent holds a B.A. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia, a Master of International Affairs from the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, and a Ph.D. in International Relations from George Washington University. His PhD dissertation entitled “The Strategic Determinant of Oil Stockpiling Behavior” focused on the SPR. As an adjunct professor at the Bush School DC he teaches graduate courses on energy security and oil geopolitics.