Strategic Oil Reserves by Country
Governments and their stockholding agencies keep emergency oil stocks to cover a sudden loss of supply. Of the 11 countries tracked here, the largest stockpile is China's, estimated at about 1,492 million barrels (not officially disclosed), followed by Japan (380 Mb) and the United States (283 Mb). All 11 together hold roughly 2,784 million barrels. The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve held 283.0 million barrels in the week ending Oct 9, 2026 — down 132.5 million barrels (32%) from 415.4 million on Mar 20, 2026.
Updated October 19, 2026. The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve row refreshes weekly from EIA; every other country carries its own source date.
Looking for oil still in the ground? See proven oil reserves by country. For the US reserve in depth, see the Strategic Petroleum Reserve page.
Strategic Oil Reserves by Country, Ranked
| # | Country | Reserve (Mb) | Relative size | Days Cover | Type | As Of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CN ChinaEST. | 1,492 | — | Government SPR + state-directed commercial (EIA estimate) | 2026-Q2 | EIA (estimate) | |
| 2 | JP Japan | 380 | 176 | Government + industry obligation + producer joint stocks | 2026-07-31 | METI / ANRE | |
| 3 | US United StatesAUTO | 283 | — | Government-owned (SPR) | 2026-10-09 | EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report | |
| 4 | DE Germany | 140 | 92 | Agency (EBV) | 2026-06 | Eurostat (nrg_stk_oem) | |
| 5 | FR France | 119 | 88 | Agency (SAGESS) + industry obligation | 2026-06 | Eurostat (nrg_stk_oem) | |
| 6 | ES Spain | 99 | 97 | Agency (CORES) + industry obligation | 2026-06 | Eurostat (nrg_stk_oem) | |
| 7 | IT Italy | 76 | 90 | Agency (OCSIT) + industry obligation | 2026-06 | Eurostat (nrg_stk_oem) | |
| 8 | GB United KingdomEST. | 75 | — | Industry obligation (no agency) | 2026-03-31 | DESNZ Energy Trends | |
| 9 | KR South Korea | 69 | — | Government (KNOC); industry-obligation stocks not included | 2026-Q2 | EIA | |
| 10 | NL Netherlands | 30 | 94 | Agency (COVA) + industry obligation | 2026-06 | Eurostat (nrg_stk_oem) | |
| 11 | IN India | 21 | — | Government (ISPRL) | 2026-Q2 | EIA |
Days cover is the published IEA or EU net-import figure. It is blank where none is published for the stocks shown; for the US the measure does not apply, because the US is a net petroleum exporter. Measured against gross crude imports instead, the SPR equals about 47 days (6.0 Mb/d, EIA week ending Oct 9, 2026).
EST. marks an outside estimate or an approximate conversion; hover a row for its note. EU rows convert Eurostat's tonnes of crude-oil equivalent to barrels at 7.33 bbl/t. Only the US row is updated automatically; every other row keeps the as-of date of its source, and most include stocks already released under the March 2026 IEA action. Download this table (CSV).
How each country holds its stocks: Japan · China · India · South Korea · Germany · France · United Kingdom. The physical methods are on how oil is stored.
US Strategic Petroleum Reserve This Week
Weekly end-of-week crude stocks in the SPR, August 1982 to Oct 9, 2026, from EIA series WCSSTUS1 (2,298 weeks). Dashed line: the reserve's ~714 million barrel design capacity. Download the series (CSV).
Why the US SPR Has Fallen in 2026
On 11 March 2026 IEA members agreed a coordinated release of 400 million barrels in response to the Middle East supply disruption. When contributions were confirmed on 19 March they totalled 426 million barrels, the largest collective action in the agency's history, with the United States committing 172.2 million (IEA).
The Department of Energy is delivering the US share as an emergency exchange, not a sale: companies borrow SPR crude now and must return it later with additional barrels as a premium. DOE put the reserve at about 415 million barrels when it opened the first request for proposals on 13 March (DOE).
EIA's weekly data show the reserve down 132.5 million barrels from 415.4 million in the week ending Mar 20, 2026, less than the full 172.2 million barrel commitment. Because the oil is loaned, the returned barrels and their premium will go back into the reserve; DOE has not published a cumulative delivery total.
How Countries Hold Emergency Oil
| Model | Who owns and pays for the oil | Examples in this table |
|---|---|---|
| Government-owned | The state buys the crude and stores it in its own facilities, often salt caverns or underground rock caverns. Releases are a government decision. | United States (SPR), India (ISPRL), China (national SPR sites), Japan and South Korea (national reserves alongside industry stocks) |
| Stockholding agency | A public or industry-funded agency holds the stocks, financed by a levy on oil companies or consumers. Common in the EU. | Germany (EBV), Spain (CORES), Netherlands (COVA), France (SAGESS), Italy (OCSIT) |
| Industry obligation | Refiners and importers must keep a minimum inventory above their normal operating stocks. The oil stays in company tanks and counts toward the national obligation. | United Kingdom; also the private-mandate share of Japanese and Korean stocks and the obligated share in most EU states |
Most countries mix models, which is why the Type column often names more than one. Government-owned stocks are the easiest to deploy quickly; obligated industry stocks are cheaper for the state but are released by lowering the obligation, which relies on companies selling the oil.
The IEA 90-Day Rule
What members must hold
- IEA members that are net oil importers must hold emergency stocks equal to at least 90 days of the previous year's net imports. Government, agency and obligated industry stocks all count.
- EU member states have a parallel legal obligation under Council Directive 2009/119/EC: 90 days of average daily net imports or 61 days of average daily consumption, whichever is greater.
- Net exporters such as the United States, Canada and Norway have no net-import obligation, although the US keeps the SPR for its own energy security.
Why the numbers don't line up
- Crude vs products: some countries count refined products as well as crude, converted to crude-equivalent barrels.
- Different denominators: 90 days of net imports is a very different volume from 90 days of consumption for a country that produces some of its own oil.
- Non-IEA countries: China and India are not IEA members. China publishes no stock levels, so its figure is an EIA estimate; India's is EIA's figure for crude held in its strategic caverns, well below their capacity.
IEA Coordinated Emergency Releases
| Date | Trigger | Total agreed | US share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1991 | Gulf War: the IEA activated its pre-agreed contingency plan as the air campaign against Iraq began. (IEA) | 2.5 Mb/d plan | 17.3 Mb sold |
| Sep 2005 | Hurricane Katrina damaged Gulf of Mexico production and refining. (IEA / DOE) | 60 Mb | 20.8 Mb (11.0 sold, 9.8 loaned) |
| Jun 2011 | Loss of Libyan output during the civil war. (IEA / DOE) | 60 Mb | 30.6 Mb sold |
| Mar & Apr 2022 | Russia's invasion of Ukraine: 62.7 Mb agreed on 1 March, then 120 Mb on 1 April. (IEA) | 182.7 Mb | 180 Mb sold over 2022 |
| Mar 2026 | Middle East disruption: 400 Mb agreed on 11 March; member contributions confirmed on 19 March totalled 426 Mb, the largest collective action in IEA history. (IEA) | 426 Mb | 172.2 Mb (emergency exchange) |
A collective action is agreed by all IEA members and each contributes in proportion to its share of member oil consumption. Countries can also release on their own, as the US has done after hurricanes and in congressionally mandated sales, and those releases are not listed here.
Strategic Reserves FAQ
Which country has the largest strategic oil reserve?
China, with an estimated 1,492 million barrels (an EIA estimate; China publishes no stock figures). Japan is next with 380 million barrels and the United States third with 283 million. Rankings depend on what is counted: this table includes government-owned stocks, stockholding-agency stocks and the obligatory stocks some countries require industry to hold, because all of them count toward IEA emergency obligations.
Which countries hold strategic oil reserves, and how big are they?
The 11 countries tracked here, largest first: China 1,492 (est.); Japan 380; the United States 283; Germany 140; France 119; Spain 99; Italy 76; the United Kingdom 75 (est.); South Korea 69; the Netherlands 30; India 21. Figures are in million barrels, each with its own source and as-of date in the table. Saudi Arabia and other large producers are not in the table; see the question below on why.
How much oil is in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve held 283.0 million barrels in the week ending Oct 9, 2026 — down 132.5 million barrels (32%) from 415.4 million on Mar 20, 2026. Over the past four weeks it fell by 2.0 million barrels, about 70 thousand barrels a day, and it is now about 40% full against its roughly 714 million barrel design capacity. The figure comes from EIA's weekly series WCSSTUS1 and updates on this page automatically.
What does "days of cover" mean?
It expresses a stockpile as the number of days it could replace imports. The IEA measures it against the previous year's average daily net imports, and the EU uses the greater of 90 days of net imports or 61 days of consumption. The days in the table are the IEA or EU net-import figures published for each country. Cells are blank where no such figure is published: the US is a net petroleum exporter, so the measure does not apply, and China, India, South Korea and the UK do not publish a comparable days figure for the stocks shown.
Is a strategic petroleum reserve the same as oil reserves?
No. A strategic petroleum reserve is crude oil (and sometimes refined products) that has already been produced and is held in tanks or salt caverns for emergencies. Proven oil reserves are oil still in the ground that can be economically produced, and they are hundreds of times larger. Venezuela and Saudi Arabia have the largest proven reserves; China, Japan and the United States hold the largest emergency stockpiles.
Why is Saudi Arabia not in this table?
Producer countries hold large commercial inventories — Saudi Aramco stores crude at home and in tank farms abroad — but those are operating stocks of an oil company, not government emergency reserves held under an IEA-style obligation. Including them would mix two different things, so this table lists only government, agency and obligated emergency stocks.
How often is this data updated?
The US row and the US SPR chart update automatically from EIA's weekly data, which is published on Wednesdays for the week ending the previous Friday. Every other country is hand-curated from its stockholding agency or government and carries its own as-of date and source, because most countries publish monthly or annually and few publish a single comparable figure.