The U.S. released 6.1 million bbl of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve last week, sending inventories in the stockpile below 300 million bbl for the first time since January 1983.
There were 298.7 million bbl held in the reserve as of Friday, according to Department of Energy data released Monday. That included 105.3 million bbls of sweet crude and 193.4 million bbl of sour crude, the DOE data show.
It was the lowest level for the stockpile since the week ending Jan. 28, 1983, when inventories totaled 298.379 million bbl. That was the last week that holdings were under the 300-million-bbl mark, DOE data show.
The week's release included 4.1 million bbl of sweet crude and 2 million bbls of sour crude.
Releases from the U.S. strategic reserve are being conducted under a return-exchange program, with companies that are awarded barrels agreeing to return them, along with additional oil as a premium for the loan.
The U.S. releases are part of a coordinated effort by International Energy Agency member nations to release a total of 400 million bbl from national stockpiles to deal with supply disruptions caused by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The week's release means the Trump administration has so far released 116.6 million bbl of the total 172 million bbl it has said will be released by the U.S. as part of the IEA program.
Concern, however, is growing as the release program nears its end and negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz remain stalled.
Strong export demand has already helped send U.S. commercial crude inventories to their lowest levels in more than a decade.
Analysts are warning that the depleting of stockpiles and end of the IEA release program leave markets little cushion if the strait remains closed and global demand remains solid.
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