SEATTLE (Oil Monster): The strategic global oil inventory stood at around 2.5 billion barrels at the end of last year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Monday.
The agency plans to add its assessment of strategic inventories in its Short-Term Energy Outlook, starting in May, as the United States is releasing 172 million barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum reserve in a bid to reduce oil prices that have soared due to supply shocks from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. The U.S. effort is part of a broader release of 400 million barrels of oil agreed by the 32-nation International Energy Agency in March.
· The three largest strategic oil inventories were held by China, the United States, and Japan as of December 2025, the EIA said. Other significant strategic inventories are held by countries in Europe that are a part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Middle East, and Asia.
· China added an average of 1.1 million barrels per day of oil to its strategic inventories in 2025, which reached nearly 1.4 billion barrels as of December 2025, the EIA said. Preliminary government data indicates China continued to build inventories in 2026 prior to the Iran crisis, the EIA added.
· Chinese government-held inventories averaged about 360 million barrels in December 2025, the EIA said, while about 1 billion was held by national oil companies. The EIA assumes that both commercial and government-held crude oil inventories in China are part of strategic oil inventories.
· The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve held 413 million barrels at the end of last year, and about 409 million barrels as of April 10. The U.S. SPR has full storage capacity of 714 million barrels of crude oil. The U.S. also has more than 400 million barrels of commercial crude oil, opens new tab inventories in the United States.
· Japan holds the third-largest strategic oil inventories, at about 263 million barrels in government-held inventories as of December 2025, the EIA said. The country requires industry to hold 70 days of demand, or about 220 million barrels, in addition to the 90-day strategic reserve overseen by the government.
· South Korea also holds substantial strategic oil inventories, averaging 79 million barrels during the same period in 2025, the EIA said.
· Countries in Europe that are a part of the OECD held 179 million barrels in government inventories as of December 2025, the EIA estimated.
· Saudi Arabia held an average of 82 million barrels in on-land storage at the end of last year, while the UAE held an average of 34 million barrels of on-land oil inventories. The UAE also maintains substantial underground storage in Fujairah, the capacity and inventory of which is unknown, and is seeking to increase storage capacity at that location. Iran held an average of 71 million barrels of on-land oil as of December 2025, the EIA said, basing its estimates on Vortexa and Kpler data.
· India had 21.4 million barrels of crude oil stored in its SPR as of March 2025, the EIA said, citing Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd's annual report.
Courtesy: www.reuters.com
