Why do we provide information about crude oil storage capacity utilization?

We will provide this information for an indeterminate period of time to help stakeholders better assess current market conditions. We will report the most recent crude oil storage capacity utilization estimates for the United States in total and for each of the five PADD regions separately.

How often does EIA report crude oil storage capacity?

EIA releases a report twice a year detailing crude oil and product storage capacity in the United States; this report describes two measures of capacity. Net available shell capacity includes tank bottoms, working storage capacity, and contingency space (see figure below).

Where are US crude oil stocks stored?

Most U.S. crude oil stocks are held in the Midwest and Gulf Coast, where storage tanks were at 69% and 56% of capacity, respectively, as of February 20.

How much storage capacity does crude oil need?

The exact amount of storage capacity that must be available to maintain operation of crude oil storage and transportation systems is unknown. The storage utilization rates reported above reflect crude oil inventories stored in tanks or in underground caverns at tank farms and refineries as a percentage of working storage capacity.

Can a crude oil storage system be fully filled?

Operation of crude oil storage and transportation systems requires some amount of working storage to be available to be filled at all times in order to receive deliveries by pipeline, tanker, barge, and rail. Therefore, it is not possible to completely fill all the working storage capacity reported by EIA for the United States and PADD regions.

How many barrels of crude oil a year?

From September 2013 to September 2014, total crude oil working storage capacity increased from 502 million barrels to 521 million barrels. Operation of crude oil storage and transportation systems requires some amount of working storage to be available to be filled at all times in order to receive deliveries by pipeline, tanker, barge, and rail.