Global GridStrategic oil reserves: how much emergency oil is left
On 23 October 2026 the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve held 282.6 million barrels of crude oil, 40% of its 714 million barrel capacity: before the past year, it last held this little in October 1982. A year earlier it held 408.6 million barrels; at its peak, in January 2010, 726.6 million.
The Markets tab has the interactive version: every week since 1982, each storage site, Europe's emergency stocks month by month and a map of the reserves.
The US reserve since 1982
Million barrels, weekly (US Energy Information Administration, series WCSSTUS1); the dashed orange line is EIA's own forecast from its Short-Term Energy Outlook (2026-10-01), not a measurement.
The four US storage sites
| Site | Oil (million barrels) | Capacity | Full |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Mound, Texas | 138.0 | 247.1 | 56% |
| Big Hill, Texas | 89.1 | 170.0 | 52% |
| West Hackberry, Louisiana | 23.7 | 220.4 | 11% |
| Bayou Choctaw, Louisiana | 31.4 | 76.0 | 41% |
As the US Department of Energy last published them (16 October 2026).
Who holds the most emergency oil
| Country or group | Million barrels | What is counted |
|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇳 China | 1,397 | Government-held (about 359) and commercial (about 1,038) crude oil, counted together because China's state oil companies were directed to hold emergency oil in their own tanks. China publishes no figures: this is EIA's estimate. |
| 🇺🇸 United States | 413 | The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, owned by the government. |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | 263 | Government-held stocks only: not the 70 days of demand that Japanese law requires companies to hold, nor oil held jointly with producer countries. |
| OECD Europe | 179 | Government stocks in European OECD countries (International Energy Agency figure). Stocks that companies must hold are not counted. |
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 82 | Oil held on land (EIA estimate from Vortexa and Kpler figures); not the oil Saudi Arabia keeps in leased tanks in South Korea and Japan. |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | 79 | Government strategic stocks. |
| 🇮🇷 Iran | 71 | Oil held on land (EIA estimate); not the oil Iran is reported to keep in bonded tanks in China. |
| 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | 34 | Oil held on land (EIA estimate); not the underground storage at Fujairah, whose size is not known, nor tanks leased abroad. |
| 🇮🇳 India | 21 | Crude oil in India's strategic reserve in March 2025 (Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd), the latest figure EIA gives. |
Estimates for December 2025: US Energy Information Administration, Today in Energy, "China, the United States, and Japan hold most strategic oil inventories in 2025" (20 April 2026), from its Short-Term Energy Outlook, March 2026 (public domain). Japan's 10 national stockpiling bases hold up to about 252 million barrels (JOGMEC). India's three underground caverns hold up to about 39.1 million barrels (ISPRL).
Europe's emergency oil stocks
| Country | Thousand tonnes | Days of use | Month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 20,086 | 96 | August 2026 |
| 🇫🇷 France | 16,420 | 97 | August 2026 |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | 14,199 | 100 | July 2026 |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | 9,354 | 77 | July 2026 |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | 7,958 | 91 | July 2026 |
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | 4,279 | 106 | August 2026 |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 4,122 | 80 | July 2026 |
| 🇬🇷 Greece | 3,708 | 102 | June 2026 |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | 3,180 | 178 | August 2026 |
| 🇵🇹 Portugal | 2,408 | 87 | July 2026 |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 2,366 | 89 | August 2026 |
| 🇷🇴 Romania | 2,157 | 89 | July 2026 |
Emergency stocks EU countries must hold (Eurostat, nrg_stk_oem and nrg_stk_oilm, CC BY 4.0): the 12 largest, in each country's latest reported month.
Questions and answers
How much oil is in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
282.6 million barrels on 23 October 2026, according to the US Energy Information Administration's weekly figures, 40% of its authorised capacity of 714 million barrels.
Is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at its lowest level?
Before the past year, the reserve last held this little oil in October 1982, when it held 280.8 million barrels. A year earlier it held 408.6 million barrels.
What is the most oil the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has held?
726.6 million barrels, in the week of 1 January 2010.
Which country has the largest strategic oil reserve?
China, with about 1,397 million barrels at the end of 2025 by the US Energy Information Administration's estimate, followed by the United States (413 million) and Japan (263 million).
Where is the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve stored?
In salt caverns deep underground at 4 sites on the Gulf Coast: Bryan Mound (Texas), Big Hill (Texas), West Hackberry (Louisiana) and Bayou Choctaw (Louisiana).
More on energy security
- Strait of Hormuz
- Oil shipping chokepoints
- Oil and gas prices
- World power grid map
- UK electricity interconnectors
- Every country's energy security score
Sources: US Energy Information Administration (weekly reserve, WCSSTUS1; Short-Term Energy Outlook; country estimates), US Department of Energy (storage sites), Eurostat (CC BY 4.0), JOGMEC, Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. Figures updated 31 October 2026.
To cite this page: Global Grid, “Strategic oil reserves: how much emergency oil is left”, globalgrid.uk/strategic-oil-reserves, and the original source named above.