US Refinery Capacity
Operable atmospheric crude oil distillation capacity of US refineries, in millions of barrels per calendar day, from the EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report. Weekly since 1990. Operable means capacity that is running or could be restarted within 90 days; it moves in steps as plants close, expand or are idled.
Operable capacity (million b/d)
- YoY %
- -0.7%
Next release: ≈ Sep 16, 2026
Latest reading
As of September 4, 2026, Refining Capacity (Operable capacity (million b/d)) stands at 18.03 — unchanged from 18.03 the prior reading, 5.0% below the May 8, 2020 record of 18.98. This is the supply ceiling. US capacity peaked near 19 million barrels a day in 2020 and has fallen about 5% since as refineries on both coasts closed, with more closures announced. Utilization near 98% against a smaller ceiling means the country makes less product at full stretch than it did before the pandemic, which is why a product shortage can build without any change in crude. Capacity that leaves does not come back on a headline. Series history runs from 1990 to present.
Sources, methodology & freshnessLast updated 2026-09-14 · Open ↓Close ↑
Full history
Million barrels per calendar day
Year-over-year %
Capacity against the same week a year earlier. Capacity moves in steps when a plant closes or expands, so most weeks read zero and the steps are the events.
Methodology & data
Refining Capacity is sourced from EIA directly from the publisher’s own dataset (EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WOCLEUS2), weekly, million barrels per calendar day; release date estimated as the Wednesday after each survey week). We pull the complete history, chart it on a weekly basis, overlay SPY for context, and generate a dated plain-English reading from the latest release — with no smoothing or adjustment beyond what the chart legend states.
Every reading is stamped with its release date, last updated 2026-09-14. Maintained and reviewed by Yuriy Matso; see our methodology for the standards every series on the site is held to.
Frequently asked questions
What is the US Refinery Capacity?
Operable atmospheric crude oil distillation capacity of US refineries, in millions of barrels per calendar day, from the EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report. Weekly since 1990. Operable means capacity that is running or could be restarted within 90 days; it moves in steps as plants close, expand or are idled.
How do you read Refining Capacity?
This is the supply ceiling. US capacity peaked near 19 million barrels a day in 2020 and has fallen about 5% since as refineries on both coasts closed, with more closures announced. Utilization near 98% against a smaller ceiling means the country makes less product at full stretch than it did before the pandemic, which is why a product shortage can build without any change in crude. Capacity that leaves does not come back on a headline.
Where does the Refining Capacity data come from?
EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WOCLEUS2), weekly, million barrels per calendar day; release date estimated as the Wednesday after each survey week. We chart the full history and publish a dated, plain-English reading with every release; the raw series is downloadable as CSV at /data/indicators/refinery-capacity.csv.
How often is Refining Capacity updated?
Refining Capacity is a weekly series from EIA, refreshed here as soon as a new release posts from EIA.
Operable capacity (million b/d)
- YoY %
- -0.7%
Next release: ≈ Sep 16, 2026