DOE’s 3/11/2026 announcement called for the release of 172 million barrels. To date, 378,000 bbls (0.22% of that amount) have been released.
| date | bbls (1000s) |
| 3/6 | 415,422 |
| 3/13 | 415,422 |
| 3/20 | 415,442 |
| 3/27 | 415,064 |
The big picture:
Posts Tagged ‘172 million barrel withdrawal’
First evidence of SPR withdrawals since the March 11 announcement
Posted in energy policy, tagged 172 million barrel withdrawal, only 378 thousand, progress to date, SPR, Strategic Petroleum Reserve on April 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »
SPR: easier to tap than fill
Posted in energy policy, tagged 172 million barrel withdrawal, IEA, SPR, Strategic Petroleum Reserve on March 13, 2026| Leave a Comment »
DOE (3/11/2026): “Earlier today, 32 member nations of the International Energy Agency unanimously agreed to President Trump’s request to lower energy prices with a coordinated release of 400 million barrels of oil and refined products from their respective reserves.
“As part of this effort, President Trump authorized the Department of Energy to release 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, beginning next week. This will take approximately 120 days to deliver based on planned discharge rates.
This will reduce the SPR to ~ 243 million bbls, 1/3 of capacity and the lowest level since it was initially filled in 2010. Market disturbances and national elections are too frequent to have confidence that the SPR will be refilled, even to the 500 million bbl level.
Meanwhile, the oil markets didn’t seem to be impressed by the announcement.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 