DID Press: Official data covering the period from February 6 to August 3, 2026, indicate that the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has been depleted at a rate more than three times faster than commercial crude oil inventories, bringing emergency reserves close to historic lows.
Analysis of US crude oil inventory trends shows that both commercial and strategic stockpiles declined during the first half of 2026, with the drawdown of the SPR occurring at a significantly faster pace.
According to the data, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell from approximately 415.2 million barrels in early February to 304.8 million barrels by August 3—a decline of 110.5 million barrels, or 26.6%, in less than six months. The figures suggest Washington has been drawing down its emergency energy reserves at an unusually rapid rate.
Over the same period, US commercial crude inventories declined from 428.8 million barrels to 407.2 million barrels, representing a reduction of 21.6 million barrels, or roughly 5%.
Trend analysis indicates that the SPR declined by an average of approximately 5.25 million barrels per week, compared with about 1.67 million barrels per week for commercial inventories, meaning strategic reserves were depleted at a pace more than three times faster than commercial stockpiles.
The analysis also found a strong positive correlation between the levels of strategic and commercial inventories (0.81) and between their weekly changes (0.69), while noting that correlation does not necessarily imply a causal relationship, as both inventories followed a broader downward trend during the period.
The largest weekly decline in the SPR occurred in the week ending May 15, 2026, when reserves fell by 9.92 million barrels, from 384.095 million to 374.175 million barrels—one of the sharpest weekly drawdowns in the history of the reserve.