U.S. Strategic Oil Reserve Drops Below 300 Million Barrels, Lowest Since 1983

The United States has continued releasing emergency oil inventories to address global supply disruptions and rising energy prices, causing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to shrink to its lowest level in over 40 years.

According to data released Monday (10th) by the U.S. Department of Energy, for the week ending August 7, the strategic oil reserve decreased by 6.1 million barrels to 298.7 million barrels—its lowest level since 1983 and the first time falling below the 300 million barrel threshold.

By crude type, current inventory includes 105.3 million barrels of low-sulfur crude and 193.4 million barrels of high-sulfur crude. The previous week, approximately 2.8 million barrels were released from the strategic reserve, bringing inventory down to 304.8 million barrels. The latest weekly release has further expanded in scale.

This ongoing drawdown of the U.S. strategic oil reserve is part of a coordinated action by International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries. In response to global oil supply disruptions and persistently high energy prices, the U.S. has committed to releasing 172 million barrels of crude oil. The overall plan involves participating countries collectively releasing 400 million barrels of crude and refined products.

However, most of the U.S. Department of Energy’s oil releases are conducted through 'exchanges' rather than direct sales. Companies receiving oil from the strategic reserve are required to return the same volume of crude in the future, plus an additional amount as a premium. This means the inventory is theoretically expected to be replenished over time.