How much oil is in the SPR right now?
In the week ending 16 October 2026, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve held 282.7 million barrels of crude oil, 39.6% of its authorized capacity of 714 million barrels. That is 125.1 million barrels less than a year earlier. It is the lowest level since October 1982.
At the average rate the United States used oil over the past four weeks, 21.1 million barrels a day, the reserve would cover about 13 days of total US oil use on its own, or about 141 days of US net crude oil imports (2.0 million barrels a day).
What is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the United States' emergency stock of crude oil, owned by the federal government and run by the Department of Energy. Congress created it in 1975, after the 1973–74 Arab oil embargo showed how exposed the country was to a sudden cut in supply. The first oil arrived in 1977.
The oil is stored in 61 huge caverns hollowed out of salt domes deep underground at four sites on the Gulf Coast: Bryan Mound and Big Hill in Texas, and West Hackberry and Bayou Choctaw in Louisiana. Salt caverns are cheap to build, naturally sealed and close to the refineries and pipelines that would use the oil. Together they are authorized to hold 714 million barrels. The reserve was last full in December 2009, at 726.6 million barrels.
How oil is released
Only the President can order an emergency drawdown, either a full drawdown for a severe supply interruption or a limited one for a smaller shortage. The Department of Energy can also run test sales and exchanges on its own authority. Once a release is ordered, oil can start reaching the market in about 13 days, at up to 4.4 million barrels a day in theory.
Releases happen in three main ways. In a sale, oil is sold to companies at market prices. In an exchange, companies borrow oil and later return it with extra barrels as a premium, so the reserve ends up with more than it lent. And Congress has at times ordered mandated sales to raise money for the federal budget.
How it is refilled
The reserve refills in two ways. The Department of Energy can buy oil, but only with money set aside by Congress, and only as fast as the sites can take oil in. And exchange returns bring oil back as companies repay the barrels they borrowed, plus the premium. Refilling is much slower than releasing: in 2024, the reserve grew by about 3 million barrels a month, while in May 2026 it fell by almost 10 million barrels in a single week.
Why the reserve is so low
The reserve peaked at 726.6 million barrels in January 2010. Since then it has been drawn down by mandated sales ordered by Congress, by a 180-million-barrel emergency sale in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, and by the 2026 emergency release: after the Strait of Hormuz was closed in March 2026, the United States committed 172 million barrels to a 400-million-barrel release coordinated by the International Energy Agency, mostly as exchanges that companies must repay with extra barrels.
Since the end of 2025, the reserve has lost 130.5 million barrels.
SPR level by year
| Year | Stocks | Full | Change in the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (latest week) | 282.7 | 40% | −130.5 |
| 2025 | 413.2 | 58% | +19.6 |
| 2024 | 393.6 | 55% | +39.2 |
| 2023 | 354.4 | 50% | −18.0 |
| 2022 | 372.4 | 52% | −221.3 |
| 2021 | 593.7 | 83% | −44.4 |
| 2020 | 638.1 | 89% | +3.1 |
| 2019 | 635.0 | 89% | −14.2 |
| 2018 | 649.1 | 91% | −14.6 |
| 2017 | 663.7 | 93% | −31.3 |
| 2016 | 695.1 | 97% | −0.0 |
| 2015 | 695.1 | 97% | +4.2 |
| 2014 | 691.0 | 97% | −5.0 |
| 2013 | 696.0 | 97% | +1.0 |
| 2012 | 695.0 | 97% | −1.0 |
| 2011 | 696.0 | 97% | −30.6 |
How the estimates work
Days of total US oil use divides the oil in the reserve by the average amount of oil products the US used each day over the last four weeks. Days of US net crude imports divides it by the average net crude oil imports over the same four weeks, which is closer to how the International Energy Agency measures emergency stocks. Days at the maximum release rate uses the reserve's design capacity of 4.4 million barrels a day; the rate the sites can sustain today is reported to be lower. Time to refill assumes the pace you choose; the default is the pace of the most recent year in which the reserve grew. These are illustrations, not forecasts.
Questions
How much oil is in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
282.7 million barrels in the week ending 16 October 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That is 40% of the reserve's authorized capacity of 714 million barrels.
How long would the SPR last?
On its own, about 13 days of total US oil use, at the recent rate of 21.1 million barrels a day. In practice the reserve is meant to fill gaps in supply, not replace it: at its maximum design release rate of 4.4 million barrels a day, the current stock would last about 64 days.
How long would it take to refill the SPR?
Refilling the remaining 431 million barrels at the 2025 pace of about 1.6 million barrels a month would take around 22 years. Exchange returns due from the 2026 release will add oil back faster for a while, and the barrel above lets you try other paces.
Who decides when to use the SPR?
The President, for emergency drawdowns. The Department of Energy runs exchanges and test sales, and Congress sets mandated sales and provides money for purchases.
Sources: EIA weekly SPR stocks, EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report and the Department of Energy's SPR quick facts. EIA publishes new figures every Wednesday; this page updates the next morning. See how this site works.