The world has nearly burned through its oil stockpile buffer, executives say
USO•Less than 6 billion barrels of commercial oil inventories remain, executives said, while the International Energy Agency is preparing to release 100 million barrels of crude and diesel. U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve crude stocks are at their lowest since October 1982.
1. Oil inventories under strain
Global oil storage accessible to the market is running low after governments and energy companies drew on stockpiles to ease pressure from supply disruptions, executives said. Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said less than 6 billion barrels of commercial inventories remain, with only 10% or less available, and that more than 1 billion barrels had been released mainly from onshore commercial inventories since the start of this year’s Middle East crisis.
2. Planned IEA release
The International Energy Agency is preparing to release 100 million barrels of crude and diesel to help alleviate soaring diesel prices. Nasser said it was unclear whether some of that amount would include volumes from the agency’s record 400 million-barrel release in March that had not yet reached the market. The IEA puts global oil demand at about 102 million barrels per day.
3. Thin supply cushion
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said depleted buffers had made the market more fragile and raised oil’s price floor. Executives said it could take years to refill inventories while meeting global demand; U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve crude stocks are at their lowest since October 1982. Petronas CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik said a bad winter could bring a “bloodbath” in the gas market in the first quarter of 2027 if storage reaches minimal levels.
