US Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Current Inventory, Storage Sites and History

01What is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is the world's largest supply of emergency crude oil, established by the U.S. government in 1975 following the 1973-1974 Arab oil embargo. The SPR stores crude oil in massive underground salt caverns along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana, providing energy security for the United States and serving as a tool to manage supply disruptions and oil price volatility.

02Current SPR Inventory & Capacity Utilization

03Storage Site Locations & Capacities

Site-level inventories below are from the DOE SPR Quick Facts breakdown as of October 16, 2026, and total 282.2 million barrels. The headline figure used elsewhere on this page is the EIA weekly number for the week ending October 9, 2026 (283.0 million barrels, released October 15, 2026). The two are different measurements taken on different dates, which is why they do not match exactly.

Bar under each inventory figure shows how full that site is against its own capacity. Cavern counts are from the DOE Quick Facts table (61 in all); DOE's storage-sites page gives 60, with 21 at West Hackberry.

04Historical SPR Inventory Levels (1977-2026)

SPR Inventory Over Time

1977-2025 rows are end-of-December inventories from the EIA monthly series for crude oil in the SPR (MCSSTUS1); the 2026 row is the latest EIA weekly figure. Percentages are against today's 714 MMbbl capacity.

05SPR Value Over Time

Total Value of SPR Inventory (Billions)

1990-2025 rows value the end-of-December inventory (EIA) at that year's average WTI Cushing spot price (EIA annual average). They are proxy estimates for comparing years, not the market value on any specific date. The 2026 row values the week ending October 9, 2026 inventory at the October 14, 2026 WTI spot price.

06Major SPR Releases & Emergency Actions

Largest SPR Releases in History

Mandated sales: since 2015 Congress enacted eight laws that would have required the sale of 358.6 million barrels over FY2017-FY2031. As of April 2025, DOE had sold 119 million barrels, Congress had canceled 140 million, and 99.6 million remained due by the end of FY2031 (CRS Insight IN12542, April 11, 2025). The total excludes the roughly 22 million barrels sold in FY2017-FY2022 to pay for SPR modernization.

2022 Release Impact

• Largest Release Ever: 180 million barrels sold at an average price of about $96/barrel - narrowly ahead of the 172 million barrels authorized in 2026
• Revenue Generated: Approximately $17.2 billion in emergency sale proceeds
• Impact on Inventory: The SPR fell from 593.7 MMbbl at the end of 2021 (83% full) to 372.0 MMbbl at the end of 2022 (52% full). The emergency sale accounts for most of that drop; the rest came from congressionally mandated sales and the exchange and sale announced in November 2021
• Market Impact: Helped stabilize oil prices during Ukraine crisis
• A Low Since Surpassed: Took the SPR to a 40-year low at the time. The 2026 drawdown went lower still.

07The 2026 Drawdown and the Return Schedule

Where the Barrels Went, and When They Come Back

• Current Status: 283.0 MMbbl (39.6% full) in the week ending October 9, 2026 - 431 MMbbl below capacity
• What Happened: The Strait of Hormuz closed, and on March 11 2026 the President authorized the release of 172 million barrels over roughly 120 days as the US share of a coordinated 400 million barrel IEA action
• Crucially, an Exchange: Unlike the 2022 sale, the 2026 release is structured as an exchange. Companies borrow the crude and are contractually obligated to return it, plus a premium in additional barrels
• First Tranche: Awarded March 2026 - 45.2 million barrels out, 55 million contracted back
• Later Awards: DOE awarded a further 53.3 million barrels on May 11, 2026 (about a 28 percent premium), bringing awards to roughly 133 million barrels. On September 29, 2026 it sought bids on up to 40 million more barrels from Big Hill and Bryan Mound, with deliveries scheduled for November and December 2026
• Return Schedule: Roughly 200 million barrels due back between late 2026 and 2028, with no appropriation required
• Projected Bottom: DOE expects the reserve to trough near 243 million barrels once the full commitment is delivered
• Earlier Refill: The 2025 initiative sought $20 billion from Congress and bought back 32.3 million barrels. It was overtaken by events before it got far

Drawdown and Contracted Return (2022-2028)

08How SPR Storage Works

09SPR Fast Facts

Established	1975 - Energy Policy and Conservation Act signed by President Gerald Ford
Original Purpose	Emergency response to 1973-1974 Arab oil embargo
Management	U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER)
Operator	Strategic Storage Partners LLC - prime contractor since June 15, 2025 (took over from Fluor Federal Petroleum Operations)
International Requirement	90 days of import protection (IEA/IEP member obligation)
Import Coverage	About 42 days of gross crude oil imports (283.0 MMbbl, week ending October 9, 2026). Measured against net crude imports, DOE put it at about 125 days at the end of 2025. The IEA 90-day target is measured on net imports, so as a net oil exporter the US is no longer required to meet it
Days of Consumption	About 14 days of total U.S. oil consumption (283.0 MMbbl at 20.1 MMbbl/day)
U.S. Proved Crude Reserves	46.0 billion barrels of crude oil and lease condensate at year-end 2024, down 1% from 46.4 billion (EIA, released April 7, 2026)
U.S. Crude Production	13.95 million barrels per day in July 2026 (EIA monthly data); record month 13.995 million barrels per day in October 2025
Infrastructure Cost	~$5 billion to build storage facilities
Oil Purchase Cost	~$20.7 billion spent on crude oil acquisition (average price paid $29.70/bbl, DOE SPR Quick Facts)
Crude Oil Types	Both sweet (low sulfur) and sour (high sulfur) crude oil stored
World Ranking	Largest publicly known emergency oil supply in the world

10Official Data Sources

• U.S. Department of Energy - Strategic Petroleum Reserve
• U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
• Congressional Research Service Reports
• Trading Economics - Oil Prices

Last Updated: October 19, 2026 | Headline inventory: EIA weekly series, week ending October 9, 2026 (released October 15, 2026). Site-level inventory: DOE SPR Quick Facts, October 16, 2026. Oil price used for valuation: EIA WTI Cushing spot, $101.91/bbl (October 14, 2026)
Note: Inventory levels and prices change daily and weekly. Figures on this page are as of the dates shown beside them. The companion feature How Much Oil Is in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve? uses the same EIA weekly figure.