Is the US oil system tight? ·EIA week ending August 28, 2026
Working crude is lean, emergency cover is depleted, gasoline and distillate are tight, and jet fuel is ample.
Stressed: emergency cover depleted, commercial crude lean, Cushing tight, crude days of supply tight, refineries near capacity, gasoline tight, distillate tight, East Coast distillate tight. Counterweights: jet fuel ample, crude production ample, Midwest jet fuel ample.
1. Emergency cover
depleted · EIA week ending August 28, 20262. Working crude
lean · EIA week ending August 28, 2026lean: 25th percentile of the level since 2015 (609 weeks) · 80th of the full record since 1982 · +3.12M bbl (+1%) vs same-week 5y avg · weekly change 19th pctl of trailing 52
tight: 7th percentile of the level since 2015 (609 weeks) · 21st of the full record since 2004 · -5.34M bbl (-19%) vs same-week 5y avg · weekly change 55th pctl of trailing 52
tight: 5th percentile of the level since 2015 (609 weeks) · 59th of the full record since 1982 · -1.3 days vs same-week 5y avg · weekly change 15th pctl of trailing 52
3. Refining throughput
near capacity · EIA week ending August 28, 2026Not stored: refinery crude inputs, refinery outage data.
4. Finished products
gasoline/distillate tight; jet ample · EIA week ending August 28, 2026tight: <1st percentile of the level since 2015 (609 weeks) · 23rd of the full record since 1990 · -11.80M bbl (-5%) vs same-week 5y avg · weekly change 46th pctl of trailing 52
tight: 2nd percentile of the level since 2015 (609 weeks) · 10th of the full record since 1982 · -16.34M bbl (-14%) vs same-week 5y avg · weekly change 65th pctl of trailing 52
ample: 96th percentile of the level since 2015 (609 weeks) · 96th of the full record since 1982 · +3.46M bbl (+8%) vs same-week 5y avg · weekly change 53rd pctl of trailing 52
5. Regional bottlenecks
East Coast distillate tight; Midwest jet fuel ample · EIA week ending August 28, 2026tight: <1st percentile of the level since 2015 (609 weeks) · <1st of the full record since 1990 · -13.43M bbl (-41%) vs same-week 5y avg · weekly change 15th pctl of trailing 52
ample: 98th percentile of the level since 2015 (609 weeks) · 84th of the full record since 1990 · +0.71M bbl (+10%) vs same-week 5y avg · weekly change 67th pctl of trailing 52
Gasoline, distillate and jet fuel by PADD, tightest first, on the same reporting week.
6. Trade flows
distillate product supplied tight; crude imports normal; crude exports high; crude field production/distillate exports ample · EIA week ending August 28, 2026ample: 100th percentile of the level since 2015 (609 weeks) · 100th of the full record since 1983 · +1.54M b/d (+12%) vs same-week 5y avg · weekly change 78th pctl of trailing 52
normal: 53rd percentile of the level since 2015 (609 weeks) · 40th of the full record since 1982 · +0.39M b/d (+6%) vs same-week 5y avg · weekly change 82nd pctl of trailing 52
high: 88th percentile of the level since 2015 (609 weeks) · 96th of the full record since 1991 · +0.81M b/d (+22%) vs same-week 5y avg · weekly change 76th pctl of trailing 52
tight: 9th percentile of the level since 2015 (609 weeks) · 20th of the full record since 1991 · -0.40M b/d (-11%) vs same-week 5y avg · weekly change 17th pctl of trailing 52
ample: 98th percentile of the level full record (848 weeks) · +0.42M b/d (+32%) vs same-week 5y avg · weekly change 42nd pctl of trailing 52
Not stored: gasoline and jet product supplied, product imports.
7. Market confirmation
wti minus brent spread tight · EIA week ending August 28, 2026Not stored: product cracks.
The desk's read
Week ending August 28, 2026Commercial Crude Draws 4.5M, Cushing Barely Moves
Commercial crude fell 4.45M barrels last week to 424.5M. That is a real draw, but the tank remains 3.1M above the five-year average. So the headline number looks tighter than the shelf behind it.
The desk's full read
Cushing added just 0.08M to 22.5M. The delivery hub sits 5.3M below its five-year average, and that thinness is the real story. A near-empty pricing point keeps the WTI front spread twitchy.
The SPR drew another 3.12M to 286.6M, now 153.1M under the five-year average. Refined products stayed soft, with gasoline off 1.17M. Distillate built a modest 0.80M but remains 16.3M below the five-year average heading into fall.
Cushing, OK
WTI delivery point — pros watch this number first
Over the past ~8 weeks it has moved in line with its usual pace.
All-time detail →Strategic Petroleum Reserve
US government stocks in salt caverns
Over the past ~4 weeks it has moved in line with its usual pace. That pace is easing off.
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Building faster than usual
All-time detail →US crude flows & pricing
Refined products & the PADD map
World crude stocks
Monthly, as of May 2026National crude stockpiles reported by governments to JODI. This is a monthly, country-level view with a roughly two-month reporting lag, so it moves slower than the weekly US numbers above and counts whole-country totals, not individual storage hubs. Biggest month-over-month builds and draws shown.
Biggest builds
Biggest draws
Source: JODI (Joint Organisations Data Initiative). National closing stocks, crude oil.
US oil inventories: common questions
- Is the US oil system tight?
- US oil system, EIA week ending August 28, 2026: working crude lean; emergency cover depleted; gasoline/distillate tight; jet ample. Commercial crude 424.5M bbl (25th percentile of the level since 2015, +3.12M bbl (+1%) vs same-week 5y avg). Cushing 22.5M bbl (7th percentile of the level since 2015, -5.34M bbl (-19%) vs same-week 5y avg). SPR 286.6M bbl (<1st percentile of the level since 2015, -153.10M bbl (-35%) vs same-week 5y avg). Refinery utilization 98.0% (99th percentile of the level since 2015, +7.3 pts vs same-week 5y avg). Gasoline 205.7M bbl (<1st percentile of the level since 2015, -11.80M bbl (-5%) vs same-week 5y avg). Distillate 104.2M bbl (2nd percentile of the level since 2015, -16.34M bbl (-14%) vs same-week 5y avg). Jet fuel 45.9M bbl (96th percentile of the level since 2015, +3.46M bbl (+8%) vs same-week 5y avg). Sharpest regional stress: East Coast distillate at 19.3M bbl, <1st percentile since 2015, -13.43M bbl (-41%) vs same-week 5y avg. Counterweight: Midwest jet fuel at the 98th percentile.
- What is the current US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) inventory?
- The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve held 286.6M barrels as of August 28, 2026, per the EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report. The SPR is government-owned emergency crude, held separately from the commercial crude inventory that refiners draw on.
- What is the current Cushing, Oklahoma crude oil storage level?
- Cushing, Oklahoma, the WTI delivery point and the largest US commercial crude hub, held 22.5M barrels as of August 28, 2026 (EIA). Cushing levels near tank tops or tank bottoms move the WTI price curve, which is why the storage figure is watched every week.
- What does today's weekly crude oil inventory report show?
- The latest EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report, for the week ending August 28, 2026, put US commercial crude at 424.5M barrels, the SPR at 286.6M, and Cushing at 22.5M. The next report is due Wed Sep 9.
- What did the EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report show for August 2026?
- The EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report for the week ending August 28, 2026 put US commercial crude inventories at 424.5M barrels, down 4.5M barrels on the week. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve stood at 286.6M barrels and Cushing, Oklahoma at 22.5M. EIA publishes the report weekly on Wednesday; the next one is due Wed Sep 9.
- What is the EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report and when is it released?
- The Weekly Petroleum Status Report is the U.S. Energy Information Administration's snapshot of national crude oil, gasoline, and distillate stocks. The EIA publishes it every week, typically Wednesday around 10:30 a.m. Eastern, covering the week that ended the prior Friday. Every U.S. figure on this page reads from that report, so check the as-of date for the latest reading.
- What is the difference between a crude draw and a build?
- A draw means inventories fell over the week, so more crude left storage than came in. A build means inventories rose. A draw points to tighter supply relative to demand, and a build points to looser supply. The week-over-week figures here show which way stocks moved, not a price forecast.
- What is the difference between the SPR and commercial crude inventory?
- The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the U.S. government's emergency crude stockpile, held in salt caverns along the Gulf Coast and drawn down only by policy decision. Commercial crude is the oil refiners and traders hold in the working market. The SPR is a strategic backstop, while commercial stocks are the day-to-day supply behind prices.
- Where does this oil data come from?
- The weekly U.S. figures for Cushing, the SPR, commercial crude, gasoline, and distillate come from the EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report. The world crude stocks section comes from JODI, the Joint Organisations Data Initiative, which compiles the monthly national stock levels that governments report.