US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and commercial crude stocks -- SPR inventory, the 2026 exchange/refill mechanics, and Cushing.
Read this page as the US government's sour barrel: the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is mostly sour crude, and its exchanges put barrels into the market while the returns schedule takes them back out. The reserve's published inventory is the hard data; the 2026 exchange repayment ledger is not published, so outstanding loan balances are estimates. Every bullet carries its vintage.
The SPR is the largest single pool of sour crude the US government controls, and its 2026 exchanges have added roughly 130 million barrels of mostly sour supply to the market, directly pressuring the sour grades Western Canadian Select (WCS) competes with. While the exchanges run, refiners have a government-supplied alternative to buying sour barrels, which caps how tight the Canadian differential can get; when repayments start in 2027 at about 1.25 barrels per barrel borrowed, the flow reverses into a standing bid. Cushing stocks are the local gauge: near the operational minimum, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) logistics tighten and Canadian differentials feel it through the flat price.
Updated September 24, 2026 · refreshes every 14 days
U.S. commercial crude stocks vs 5-year range (million barrels) Weekly Petroleum Status Report, week ending September 18, 2026 U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)Chart data
5-year average
2026
Jan
436.4
419.1
Jan
438.2
422.4
Jan
434.7
426.0
Jan
436.1
423.8
Jan
437.1
420.3
Feb
442.4
428.8
Feb
446.7
419.8
Feb
451.1
435.8
Feb
454.2
439.3
Mar
455.8
443.1
Mar
455.9
449.3
Mar
453.5
456.2
Mar
454.4
461.6
Apr
456.9
464.7
Apr
455.1
463.8
Apr
453.0
465.7
Apr
452.4
459.5
Apr
453.9
457.2
May
454.7
452.9
May
452.3
445.0
May
449.7
441.7
May
448.4
433.7
Jun
448.9
426.5
Jun
443.7
418.2
Jun
439.5
412.1
Jun
437.8
408.4
Jul
438.8
411.4
Jul
437.2
409.7
Jul
434.0
411.7
Jul
433.1
404.5
Jul
433.9
407.0
Aug
431.5
424.4
Aug
426.9
428.8
Aug
422.0
428.9
Aug
421.3
424.5
Sep
422.3
424.1
Sep
419.2
423.4
Sep
418.6
426.4
Sep
419.5
n/a
Oct
426.7
n/a
Oct
425.6
n/a
Oct
428.1
n/a
Oct
426.9
n/a
Oct
432.1
n/a
Nov
433.0
n/a
Nov
433.6
n/a
Nov
431.4
n/a
Nov
428.5
n/a
Dec
428.2
n/a
Dec
426.2
n/a
Dec
423.4
n/a
Dec
421.6
n/a
Cushing, Oklahoma crude stocks vs 5-year range (million barrels) Weekly Petroleum Status Report, week ending September 18, 2026 U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)Chart data
5-year average
2026
Jan
34.8
22.8
Jan
34.1
23.6
Jan
33.7
25.1
Jan
33.3
24.8
Jan
32.8
24.0
Feb
32.2
25.1
Feb
33.0
24.0
Feb
33.5
24.9
Feb
33.7
26.5
Mar
33.2
26.6
Mar
32.7
27.5
Mar
32.6
30.9
Mar
32.9
31.5
Apr
33.1
31.5
Apr
32.5
29.8
Apr
32.8
30.6
Apr
33.6
29.8
Apr
33.7
29.1
May
33.2
27.4
May
33.3
25.8
May
33.5
23.0
May
33.8
22.4
Jun
33.2
21.6
Jun
32.5
20.0
Jun
32.2
19.0
Jun
31.8
19.7
Jul
31.1
19.6
Jul
30.4
20.0
Jul
29.5
19.4
Jul
29.2
18.6
Jul
29.6
21.0
Aug
28.9
22.6
Aug
28.4
21.3
Aug
27.8
22.4
Aug
27.8
22.5
Sep
26.7
21.8
Sep
25.6
21.5
Sep
25.6
23.7
Sep
26.1
n/a
Oct
25.7
n/a
Oct
25.1
n/a
Oct
24.3
n/a
Oct
24.8
n/a
Oct
25.1
n/a
Nov
25.0
n/a
Nov
25.0
n/a
Nov
25.3
n/a
Nov
26.0
n/a
Dec
26.4
n/a
Dec
27.0
n/a
Dec
27.6
n/a
Dec
28.4
n/a
Strategic Petroleum Reserve crude stocks vs 5-year range (million barrels) Weekly Petroleum Status Report, week ending September 18, 2026 U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)Chart data
The Energy Information Administration's (EIA) report for the week ending September 18, 2026 (released September 23) showed commercial crude stocks rising 3.0 million barrels to 426.4 million, about 2 percent above the five-year seasonal average, as refinery runs fell 2.8 percentage points to 94.0 percent and crude inputs dropped 519,000 b/d to 16.8 million b/d. Gasoline stocks fell 1.7 million barrels to 206 million (6 percent below the five-year average) and distillate stocks fell 428,000 barrels to 107.4 million (12 percent below); US crude production was 13.9 million b/d with imports of 5.9 million b/d and exports of 3.3 million b/d. Data: week ending Sep 18, 2026; published Sep 23, 2026; accessed 2026-09-24 Morningstar (Dow Jones, citing EIA)
Cushing, Oklahoma (the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) delivery hub for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures) built 2.3 million barrels in the September 18 week to 23.7 million barrels, an 11 percent jump after falling to 21.5 million the prior week. That is roughly 31 percent of the hub's reported 75-to-76-million-barrel working capacity and still close to the roughly 20-million-barrel level traders treat as the operational minimum for pump suction and pipeline pressure ('tank bottoms'); the hub touched a summer low near 18.6 million barrels in late June. Data: week ending Sep 18, 2026; published Sep 23, 2026; accessed 2026-09-24 Morningstar (citing EIA); Oklahoma Energy Today (citing EIA)
Distillate: the tightest buffer into winter
Distillate stocks (diesel and heating oil) were 107.4 million barrels in the week ending September 18, about 12 percent below the five-year seasonal average, and the US entered autumn with refiners near their ceiling: distillate production averaged 5.1 million b/d from January through August (the most since 2019) and utilization hit 97 to 98 percent in early September. Diesel averaged $6.52 per gallon (American Automobile Association) and heating oil traded near a record around $5 per gallon, roughly 120 percent above a year earlier, while net distillate exports sat near or above their 2021-2025 high since February and Russia planned to extend diesel export restrictions through October. Data: week ending Sep 18, 2026; reported Sep 18-23, 2026; accessed 2026-09-24 Daily Caller News Foundation (citing EIA and AAA); TradingEconomics (citing EIA); The Autowire (citing EIA)
The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve holds about one million barrels of heating oil, roughly five days of regional supply, and a release requires the heating-oil-over-crude price spread to run more than 60 percent above its five-year average for seven straight days while continuing to widen. Unlike the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the Northeast reserve holds refined fuel that can go directly to heating-oil markets, but a price spike alone does not automatically trigger a release; it must meet the statutory dislocation standard (National Energy Assistance Directors Association). Reported Sep 23, 2026; accessed 2026-09-24 Daily Caller News Foundation (quoting National Energy Assistance Directors Association)
The Energy Information Administration's (EIA) September Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) raised its 2026 distillate crack spread forecast to $1.57 per gallon, up 20.8 percent from the August estimate, and lifted the 2027 figure to $1.25, formalizing the market's bet that refinery margins stay elevated while global middle-distillate balances stay tight. Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, Russia's diesel export curbs, and Middle East supply risk are cited as the drivers. EIA September 2026 STEO; reported Sep 21, 2026; accessed 2026-09-24 The Autowire (citing EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook)
The 2026 exchange and refill mechanics
In June 2026 the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded contracts for a further approximately 53.3 million barrels of Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) exchange crude across all four sites (Bayou Choctaw, Bryan Mound, Big Hill, West Hackberry) under its late-April request for proposal, carrying an approximately 28 percent return premium (15.1 million barrels). DOE said about 35 million barrels had been delivered to market to that point and that earlier phases had awarded roughly 80 million barrels (45.2 plus 8.5 plus 26 million). ~Jun 2026; accessed 2026-09-24 US Department of Energy (energy.gov)
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in mid-September that the US has lent more than 130 million barrels (over three-quarters of the 172-million-barrel authorized exchange), with about 38.5 million barrels still unallocated and another round of loans 'a very real possibility' while front-month West Texas Intermediate (WTI) trades roughly 25 percent above the six-month contract. Borrowed crude is expected to start returning early in 2027 and continue through 2029 at roughly 1.25 barrels returned per barrel borrowed, implying about 35 to 40 million premium barrels on top of the principal. ~Sep 18, 2026; accessed 2026-09-24 Turkiye New Updates (citing Argus Media via Anadolu Agency); BOE Report (citing Reuters)
Other International Energy Agency (IEA) members' announced contributions to the 400-million-barrel coordinated release included 22.46 million barrels from South Korea and 13.5 million barrels from the United Kingdom, with Germany, Austria, and Japan also releasing stock (Japan's releases began in mid-March), per reporting in late July 2026. Aggregate member delivery progress beyond these pledges has not been published in a single authoritative ledger. ~Jul 2026; accessed 2026-09-24 Finwire (citing Reuters)
SPR: current inventory
The Department of Energy's (DOE) Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) Quick Facts page put per-site inventory at 294.1 million barrels as of August 20, 2026: Bryan Mound 142.5 million (48 percent of the reserve), Big Hill 89.1 million, West Hackberry 30.5 million, and Bayou Choctaw 32.0 million. The quality split was 101.8 million barrels sweet and 192.3 million sour, meaning roughly 65 percent of the remaining reserve is sour crude. Data: Aug 20, 2026; accessed 2026-09-24 US Department of Energy (SPR Quick Facts)
The Department of Energy (DOE) lists the Strategic Petroleum Reserve's (SPR) maximum nominal drawdown capability at 4.4 million b/d with oil able to enter the market 13 days after a presidential decision, but effective capacity is lower: Big Hill's drawdown capability is currently zero because of a construction outage and West Hackberry is limited to 0.75 million b/d by low inventory. Facility data; accessed 2026-09-24 US Department of Energy (SPR Quick Facts); Wikipedia (citing DOE facility data)
From about 415 million barrels when the exchanges began in mid-March to 284.6 million in the week ending September 18, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) drew roughly 130 million barrels in about 27 weeks, an average pace of roughly 0.7 million b/d (Heavy Reading calculation from Department of Energy (DOE) and Energy Information Administration (EIA) figures). Data: mid-Mar to Sep 18, 2026; accessed 2026-09-24 Heavy Reading calculation (DOE via TS2.Tech; EIA via Energy Factbook)
Congressional mandates and refill funding
The Senate-passed July 2025 budget bill cut Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) crude purchase funding to $171 million from the House's $1.3 billion, enough for roughly 3 million barrels instead of about 20 million at prevailing prices, according to Rapidan Energy cited in the reporting; the same bill kept the repeal of the last 7 million barrels of congressionally mandated SPR sales through fiscal year 2027 (Reuters). Reported Jul 1, 2025; accessed 2026-09-24 SRN News (Reuters)
For the WCSB book, the SPR is a two-act story: exchanges now, repayments later. Watch the weekly EIA petroleum status report for the inventory draw pace and any disclosed repayments; the return schedule starting in 2027 is a known future bid for sour barrels. Until then, the reserve's sour releases are the quiet headwind on every sour differential print.
DOE exchange return schedule and any disclosed repayments
Any new DOE SPR purchase RFPs (commercial refill pace)
Congressional mandated-sale status (cancellations or new mandates)
IEA coordinated release follow-through by other member countries
Cushing stocks vs working capacity as WTI logistics gauge
DOE publication of the 2026 exchange repayment ledger and first return deliveries (Wright: returns begin early 2027, run through 2029, ~1.25x premium).
DOE SPR Quick Facts per-site sweet/sour inventory table (updated irregularly; latest Aug 20, 2026) to track site-level draw concentration.
Gaps
DOE has not disclosed how many of the exchanged barrels have already been returned; the exact outstanding loan balance is not verifiable from a primary source.
The per-site (Bryan Mound, Big Hill, West Hackberry, Bayou Choctaw) inventory breakdown is published irregularly by DOE and was last seen weeks stale.
The composition (sweet vs sour) of the 2026 exchange deliveries is not published; matters for sour supply accounting.
Cushing stock level as a share of working capacity, the next binding constraint for WTI, is not available from the cited sources.
DOE has not published a borrower-by-borrower repayment ledger for the 2026 exchanges; Secretary Wright's September statement that returns begin early 2027 and run through 2029 at roughly 1.25 barrels per barrel borrowed is the only public schedule.
Final legislative status of the July 2025 repeal of the last 7-million-barrel congressionally mandated SPR sale (through FY2027) is unconfirmed from a primary legislative source.
Cushing working capacity (~75-76M bbl) and the ~20M-bbl operational-minimum threshold come from trade-press reporting, not EIA; the distance to the binding constraint for WTI is therefore an estimate.