WASHINGTON: The ongoing war between the United States and Iran has dealt a major blow to global energy supplies, with US defense oil reserves falling to their lowest level since the 1980s.
Fresh federal data shows the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) held 340.3 million barrels as of June 12, 2026 — the smallest reserve since July 1983. Other reports put SPR stocks at 325.7 million barrels, the lowest since May 1983.
Officials said the drawdown is directly linked to efforts to offset supply disruptions caused by the Iran war that began in late February.
Since the conflict started, the SPR has lost about 75 million barrels, an 18% decline. In March 2026, the Department of Energy announced plans to release an additional 172 million barrels after the flow of global oil was interrupted.
The US released another 8.9 million barrels from the reserve last week alone. Overall US inventories, including commercial and SPR stocks, have fallen by 111.4 million barrels to 743.3 million barrels as of June 19 — the lowest since 1984.
The war disrupted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries a fifth of global oil and gas. The US Energy Information Administration warned that the closure forced major economies to rapidly draw from reserves to offset the loss of more than 11 million barrels per day of Middle Eastern output.
The US Government Accountability Office warned in May that SPR infrastructure was deteriorating and that a quarter of reserves is no longer available. With only about 200 million barrels of accessible stocks left, analysts say the US can cover just 40 days of the current supply gap.
The EIA forecast diesel and jet fuel prices to rise by “more than 60% in 2026 and 40% in 2027” compared to pre-conflict levels, while petrol prices are expected to increase “by 50% in 2026 and nearly 40% in 2027”.
Global oil inventories are heading toward their lowest levels in decades. The world has already lost around 600 million barrels of oil supply since the conflict began, with the International Energy Agency calling it the biggest energy disruption in history.
US officials say there is currently no plan in place to replace the reserves or identify where the oil would come from to replenish them.
A partial peace deal signed last month allowed some tankers to resume movement through the Strait of Hormuz, but analysts caution that oil production may not return to pre-conflict levels until early 2027.
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