OilPrice explained why the claim of 14 days of oil reserves in the US is false
A claim is circulating in the United States that the country has oil reserves for only 14 days. This calculation is incorrect because it compares the volume of the strategic crude oil reserve with the indicator of petroleum product supply, according to an OilPrice article.
The claim is based on comparing 286.6 million barrels in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve with approximately 20.7 million barrels of petroleum products supplied per day. This yields a figure of about 14 days. However, the reserve contains crude oil, while the petroleum product supply indicator is a broad measure of consumption and includes gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as other products.
The strategic reserve and current supply
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is not the only source of oil for the United States. According to data cited by the publication, the country produces about 13.9 million barrels of crude oil per day, while commercial crude oil inventories total approximately 424.5 million barrels. US refineries process about 17.5 million barrels per day, while the country imports and exports significant volumes of crude oil.
The reserve was created after the 1973–1974 Arab oil embargo to respond to serious supply disruptions. Crude oil is stored in underground salt caverns on the Gulf of Mexico coast, near refineries, pipelines and ports. The reserve's design capacity is 714 million barrels.
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Reserve stocks have declined
As of August 28, the reserve held 286.6 million barrels, its lowest level since November 1982. At the end of 2020, it stood at 638 million barrels. In 2022, the administration of President Joe Biden announced the release of 180 million barrels, after which the reserve was partially replenished, to approximately 413 million barrels at the end of 2025.
According to OilPrice, in 2026 the United States committed to provide 172 million barrels as part of a coordinated release of emergency reserves by International Energy Agency countries. From April 3 to August 28, the reserve's volume declined from 413.3 million to 286.6 million barrels. The current program provides for an exchange: companies must return crude oil of similar quality later and add additional barrels.
The release of about 650,000 barrels per day amounts to less than 4% of the current volume of oil processed by US refineries. Therefore, the reduction in the reserve decreases the emergency supply available to the government, but does not mean that the United States will run out of oil in two weeks.
