US Crude Output at 13.843 Million Barrels Per Day as Brent-WTI Spread Widens to $6.19 on Hormuz Disruptions

US domestic crude oil production reached 13.843 million barrels per day in the week ending August 21, 2026, according to the Energy Information Administration's Weekly Petroleum Status Report released on August 26. That figure is up from 13.830 million barrels per day in the prior week and represents production near the high end of the current cycle. At the same time, ongoing tanker disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz pushed Brent crude to a significant premium over domestic WTI, opening a spread that directly benefits US-based refiners relative to their European and Asian competitors.

Brent crude was trading at $89.06 per barrel as of late morning on August 27 on ICE, up 1.39 percent on the day. WTI was at $82.87 per barrel on the CME over the same period, up 0.78 percent. The resulting Brent-WTI spread of $6.19 per barrel is wider than the $2 to $4 range that characterized most of 2023 and 2024 when Permian Basin growth kept domestic supply ample and geopolitical risk was lower. The current gap reflects a split market: globally traded seaborne crude facing a supply shock while US domestic grades remain insulated by near-record production.

SPR Draw Points to Active Government Management

EIA data for the week ending August 21 showed total US crude stocks, including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, falling by 3.605 million barrels to 718.636 million barrels. Over the same period, commercial crude inventories rose by 95,000 barrels to 428.910 million barrels. The gap implies that the SPR released approximately 3.7 million barrels during the week, a figure Oil Authority derived by subtracting the commercial change from the total change in the EIA report.

At an implied SPR level of approximately 289.7 million barrels, the reserve is substantially below the 630-plus million barrels that stood in inventory before the coordinated international releases of 2022. A 3.7-million-barrel weekly draw is not unprecedented in supply-shock environments. Its scale over a single reporting period signals that the administration is actively deploying the reserve rather than allowing markets to absorb the Hormuz disruption through price alone. The EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report covers production and stock data through August 21 and was published on August 26, 2026.

US Production Holds the Domestic Floor

The 13.843 million barrels per day output figure underscores how much US shale production has changed the country's exposure to Middle Eastern supply shocks. At that production rate, domestic output alone exceeds the combined OPEC+ quotas of several mid-sized member nations. Commercial crude stocks stood at 428.910 million barrels for the week, approximately 1 percent above the EIA's 5-year seasonal average, per Oil and Gas Journal's August 26 summary of the EIA report.

Days of supply from commercial crude stocks stood at 24.8 days, unchanged from the prior week per EIA data. That cushion limits the immediate price impact of Hormuz disruptions on WTI, even as Brent-linked grades absorb a geopolitical premium. The WTI-to-refinery model has historically allowed US Gulf Coast and Midwest refiners to process domestically priced crude while selling refined products at global market prices tied to Brent. That arbitrage is wider than usual today.

Brent Premium Reshapes Refiner Economics

A $6.19 per barrel Brent premium over WTI means refiners processing WTI-linked feedstocks enjoy a direct crude cost advantage relative to competitors paying Brent-equivalent prices. Western Canadian Select traded at $69.88 per barrel on August 27, per OilPrice.com midstream averages with an 11-hour reporting delay. The WCS-to-Brent spread of approximately $19.18 per barrel provides additional margin for refiners running Canadian heavy crude, most of which are located in the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast on PADD II and PADD III.

OilPrice.com data also noted that Qatar and Kuwait restored roughly 70 percent of their pre-conflict oil export volumes as alternative Hormuz routes became partially operational. That partial restoration has not been enough to close the Brent-WTI gap, suggesting the market still prices in substantial supply risk at the strait. If Brent continues to price a geopolitical premium while WTI remains anchored by domestic production, refiner margins in the United States are positioned to widen further before the Hormuz situation fully resolves.