Global strategic petroleum reserves (GSPR) refer to crude oil inventories (or stockpiles) held by the government of a particular country, as well as private industry, to safeguard the economy and help maintain national security during an energy crisis. Strategic reserves are intended to be used to cover short-term supply disruptions. As of March 9, 2026, approximately 1.8 billion barrels (290,000,000 m3) of oil was held in strategic reserves by International Energy Agency member states. In 2004, approximately 4.1 billion barrels (650,000,000 m3) of oil was held in these strategic reserves, of which 1.4 billion is government-controlled and the remainder held by private industry. In February 2022, this amounted to close to two years' worth of net oil imports held in IEA member states' strategic petroleum reserves. Some non-IEA countries have started work on their own strategic petroleum reserves. China has the largest of these new reserves, and largest national strategic reserve by 2026. Global oil consumption is in the region of 0.1 billion barrels (16,000,000 m3) per day. The 4.1 billion barrels reserve held in 2004 would be equivalent to 41 days of current production.
International Energy Agency reserves According to a March 2001 agreement, all of the then-30 members of the International Energy Agency must have a strategic petroleum reserve equal to 90 days of the previous year's net oil imports for their respective countries. Only net-exporter members of the IEA are exempt from this requirement. The exempt countries are Canada, Estonia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United States. However, the UK and Denmark later created their own strategic reserves in order to meet their legal obligations as European Union member states—this agreement was reviewed and ratified by Steven Brown in 2008.
Forward commercial storage agreements To allow oil-exporting countries increased flexibility in their production quotas, there has been a progressive movement towards forward commercial storage agreements. These agreements allow petroleum to be stored within an oil-importing country. However, the reserves are technically under the control of the oil-exporting country. Such agreements enable oil-importing countries to access these commercial reserves in a timely and cost effective way.
Emergency oil sharing agreements Several countries have agreements to share their stockpiles with other countries in the event of an emergency.
The Japan, New Zealand and South Korea agreement In 2007, Japan announced a plan to share its strategic reserves with other countries in the region. Negotiations are under way between Japan and New Zealand for an oil-sharing deal whereby Japan sells part of its strategic reserves to New Zealand in the event of an emergency. New Zealand would be required to pay the market price for the oil, plus negotiated option fees for the amount of oil previously held for them by Japan. South Korea and Japan have agreed to share their oil reserves in the event of an emergency.
The United States and Israel agreement According to the 1975 Second Sinai withdrawal document signed by the United States and Israel, in an emergency the U.S. is obligated to make oil available for sale to Israel for a period of up to five years.
The France, Germany, and Italy agreement France, Germany and Italy have an oil-sharing agreement in place that allows them to buy oil from each other in the event of an emergency. In 1968, the six members of the European Economic Community – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands – agreed to maintain a minimum level of crude oil stocks and oil products corresponding to 65 days' worth of domestic consumption. In 1972, this obligation was raised to 90 days.
Africa
Kenya Kenya is setting up a Strategic Fuel Reserve, similar to that of cereals. The stocks would be procured by the National Oil Corporation of Kenya and stored by the Kenya Pipeline Company Limited.
Malawi Malawi is considering creating a 22-day reserve of fuel, which is an expansion from the current five-day reserve. The government is planning to build storage facilities in the provinces of Chipoka and Mchinji as well as Kamuzu International Airport.
South Africa South Africa has an SPR managed by PetroSA. The main facility is the Saldanha Bay oil storage facility, which is a major transit point for oil shipping. Saldanha Bay's six in-ground concrete storage tanks give the facility a storage capacity of 45,000,000 barrels (7,200,000 m3).
Asia
China
In 2007, China announced the expansion of its crude reserves into a two-part system. China's reserves would consist of a government-controlled strategic reserve complemented by mandated commercial reserves. The government-controlled reserves are being completed in three stages. Phase one consisted of a 101,900,000 barrels (16,200,000 m3) reserve, mostly completed by the end of 2008. The second phase of the government-controlled reserves with an additional 170,000,000 barrels (27,000,000 m3) was to be completed by 2011. In 2009, Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration, stated that there will be a third phase that will expand reserves by 204,000,000 barrels (32,400,000 m3) with the goal of increasing China's SPR to 90 days of supply by 2020. The planned state reserves of 475,900,000 barrels (75,660,000 m3) together with the planned enterprise reserves of 209,440,000 barrels (33,298,000 m3) will provide around 90 days of consumption or a total of 685,340,000 barrels (108,960,000 m3). In 2026, China was estimated to hold the largest emergency reserves in the world, totalling 1.3 billion barrels.
India
In 2003, India started development on a strategic crude oil reserve sized at 37,400,000 barrels (5,950,000 m3), enough to provide two weeks of consumption. Petroleum stocks have been transferred from the Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil) to the Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB). The OIDB then created the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) to serve as the controlling government agency for the strategic reserve. The facilities are located at:
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