U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve 374.2M

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell to 374.2 million barrels in the week ended May 15, according to the Energy Information Administration’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report released on May 20. The 9.92 million-barrel decline was the largest single-week draw on record, according to the report. The draw came as oil markets reacted to developments tied to the Persian Gulf and as crude prices swung lower on May 20. Brent settled near $105 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate traded around $98, according to market pricing cited in coverage published that day. ### How big was the draw, and what does the 374.2 million-barrel figure represent? The May 20 EIA report showed the SPR at 374.2 million barrels, down from 384.1 million barrels a week earlier. That weekly change of 9.92 million barrels exceeded the prior week’s already large withdrawal and left the emergency stockpile at its lowest level since July 2024, according to the agency’s historical tables and report summary. (eia.gov) The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the U.S. government’s emergency crude stockpile. The Department of Energy stores those barrels in underground salt caverns along the Gulf Coast for use during major supply disruptions. The weekly EIA report tracks those inventories alongside commercial crude stocks, refinery runs and fuel production. (eia.gov) ### How unusual is a 9.92 million-barrel weekly decline? Dow Jones coverage of the May 20 data described the 9.9 million-barrel withdrawal as the largest weekly SPR release on record. Secondary reporting based on the same EIA release said the prior all-time weekly draw had been 8.6 million barrels, set one week earlier. (eia.gov) Since early March, roughly 41 million barrels have been pulled from the reserve, based on the figures cited in market coverage and the progression of weekly EIA inventory readings. That pace matters because it shows the reserve is being used not for a one-off release but in a sustained series of withdrawals over several weeks. That is an inference from the weekly inventory path shown in the EIA data. (morningstar.com) ### Why was the reserve being drawn down? The Department of Energy has been releasing oil from the SPR as part of U.S. measures responding to supply disruptions tied to the Persian Gulf, according to Dow Jones coverage published on May 20. That report said the DOE planned to release 172 million barrels under international measures addressing disruptions out of the Gulf. (eia.gov) The EIA’s own report does not assign motives in its weekly tables; it records the inventory change. The broader explanation in contemporaneous market reporting linked the drawdowns to supply risks associated with the Strait of Hormuz and the wider conflict environment affecting crude flows. ### Why did oil prices fall if supply risks were still in focus? (morningstar.com) On May 20, Brent fell about 5.6% to $105.02 a barrel and WTI dropped about 5.7% to $98.26, according to market coverage published on May 21. That reporting attributed the move to comments from President Donald Trump saying the administration was in the “final stages” of negotiations with Iran and to signs that some tanker traffic was moving through the Strait of Hormuz. (eia.gov) The EIA also reported that U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.3 million barrels per day in the latest week, while refineries operated at 91.6% of capacity. Those operating figures help frame the domestic backdrop in which the reserve barrels were being released. ### What should readers watch next in the official data? (riotimesonline.com) The EIA’s weekly report page lists the next Weekly Petroleum Status Report for May 28, 2026. That release will show whether the SPR draw continued after the week ended May 15 and whether commercial crude inventories, refinery runs and fuel production changed further. The official source for the reserve total remains the Energy Information Administration’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report and its accompanying tables. (eia.gov) Those publications are updated on the agency’s petroleum supply pages each week. (eia.gov 1) (eia.gov 2)