1. Why does the Hormuz closure hit Asia harder than Europe or the US?
Because the strait is above all an Asian supply line: of the nearly 15 million barrels a day of crude that passed through Hormuz in 2025, 80% was “destined for Asia” and 44% went to China and India combined, while Europe received “around 600 kb/d, or just 4%”, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). That crude flow was almost 34% of world crude trade (IEA factsheet, February 2026).
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA), which counts crude oil and condensate, gets a similar picture: 84% went to Asian markets in 2024 and 89% in the first half of 2025, with China, India, Japan and South Korea alone taking 69% and 74%. All oil flows through the strait averaged 20 million barrels a day in 2024, about 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption (EIA).
How much oil can bypass the strait is disputed. The IEA counts 3.5 to 5.5 million barrels a day of available capacity on alternative routes, the EIA about 2.6 million, because it includes only Saudi and Emirati pipelines such as Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline. On 11 September the IEA wrote that “crude losses appear to have narrowed to just below 45%, supported by increased flows bypassing the Strait, as well as US military escorts protecting flows through Hormuz”. More on the chokepoint: Strait of Hormuz explained.
Western importers depend much less on the Gulf. The United States drew 7.9% of its crude imports from the Persian Gulf in 2025 and 1.9% in June 2026 (EIA data, own calculation); the EU got 12.4% of its crude from the seven Gulf states in 2025 (GOS Hormuz Exposure Index, Eurostat, own calculation). The UK's weak spot is jet fuel, with Kuwait supplying 35% of imports in 2025 (DESNZ). In Asia, each big importer counts its stocks in its own unit:
| Country | Stock, in that country's own measure | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 199 days (state 102, private 93, producer-joint 4), Japanese Stockpiling Act basis | 15 Sep 2026 | METI/ANRE quick estimate of 18 Sep 2026 |
| South Korea | 100 million barrels in state KNOC storage (excluding joint stockpiles), capacity 146 million | 31 Aug 2026 | KNOC, storage facilities overview |
| India | 3.372 million tonnes of crude in the strategic reserve, about 64% of capacity; when full it covers about 9.5 days | 23 Mar 2026 | Rajya Sabha answer via Business Standard |
| China | no official figures; the EIA estimated nearly 1.4 billion barrels of crude inventories, about 360 million of it government-held | Dec 2025 | EIA, Today in Energy (20 Apr 2026) |
2. How many days of oil does Japan have left?
It depends on the yardstick: under Japan's own Oil Stockpiling Act the country held 199 days of oil on 15 September 2026, while the latest figure on the IEA basis, for the end of July, was 176 days. The 199 days come from a provisional quick estimate published on 18 September by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI): 102 days in government storage, 93 held by companies and 4 in joint stockpiles with producer countries. At the end of December 2025, before the crisis, the count stood at 254 days, 146 of them government stocks, so roughly 55 days have gone overall and 44 from state stocks (own calculation). Treat that gap as an order of magnitude: the monthly report and the quick estimate are different procedures, and ANRE warns that quick estimates can differ from final values.
Why two numbers? Japan's law divides stocks by domestic consumption; the IEA divides them by net imports, and ANRE's IEA-basis count also includes liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The same monthly report therefore gives 254 days under the Act and 214 on the IEA basis for the end of 2025, and 206 and 176 for the end of July 2026, a fall of 38 days on the IEA basis (own calculation). If you compare countries, start with How it is counted: the 90-day rule.
In barrels, the EIA put Japan's government-held inventories at 263 million in December 2025, the third-largest strategic stockpile after China and the United States (EIA, 20 April 2026). Company stocks grew during the crisis, from 91 days at the end of February to 98 days at the end of July, well above the reduced 55-day obligation (ANRE data, own calculation).
3. How did Japan release its reserves, and where does its oil come from now?
Japan pledged 79.8 million barrels to the IEA's 2026 collective action, 54.0 million from public crude stocks and 25.8 million from industry stocks, the second-largest share after the United States (IEA, 19 March 2026). From 16 March, companies could release 15 days of stocks as their obligation was cut from 70 to 55 days. From 26 March the state released about 8.5 million kilolitres of government crude, “about one month” of supply according to ANRE; that is roughly 53.5 million barrels (own calculation), in line with the IEA's 54.0. A second tranche of around 5.8 million kilolitres followed from 1 May, 36 million barrels according to Argus. Between the end of February and the end of July, physical government crude stocks fell by 12.78 million kilolitres, about 80.4 million barrels or roughly 89% of the 14.3 million kilolitres in the two tranches (own calculation from ANRE data and the Argus figure). How this compares with other countries: IEA release 2026: who gave what.
The pressure comes from Japan's supply structure. In 2025, 94.0% of its crude imports by volume came from the Middle East (JETRO, based on customs data). By July 2026 the share had fallen to 58.9%, and the United States had become Japan's largest supplier, according to METI's preliminary statistics as reported by LNEWS. On 25 May Prime Minister Takaichi said alternative sourcing for June that avoids Hormuz was forecast to surpass 70%, and that even with only 60% supply was secured until spring 2027 (Prime Minister's Office).
In late August, Economy Minister Akazawa held off on a new release because part of the approved volume had not been needed (Reuters via OilPrice.com). We found no plan, schedule or budget for buying the government crude back, and no date for restoring the 70-day obligation, still at 55 days at the end of July (ANRE). What refilling could mean for the market: Refilling the reserves in 2027.
4. Did South Korea tap its strategic reserve in 2026?
Only indirectly: the state-owned Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) still reported 100 million barrels on 31 August 2026, excluding joint stockpiles with producer countries, in nine bases that can hold 146 million, but the state has lent crude from its reserve to refiners. According to Korean press reports, Seoul did not sell state oil for its IEA share; it eased company obligations instead.
Its dependence on the Gulf is high: a government assessment reported by Energy News puts the Middle East's share of Korea's crude at about 70% in 2025, with 61% passing through Hormuz. On 23 September 2026 the government set a goal of no more than 50% of crude from any single region by 2035 and plans 20 million barrels of additional storage capacity by 2030, according to Money Today.
For the IEA action, the trade ministry put Korea's part at 22.46 million barrels, 5.6% of the original 400 million (Seoul Shinmun; the IEA table shows 22.5). From 29 May the private-sector stockholding obligation was cut from 40 to 20 days, which freed about 12 million barrels reported to the IEA, according to Financial News (28 May 2026). Whether the remaining 10.46 million barrels or so were delivered later (figure per Aju Business), we could not establish. Separately, since 31 March the state has lent Middle Eastern crude from its reserve to refiners, to be returned later with crude from Africa or the Americas (eToday); about 21 million barrels had been swapped by June, according to Energy Daily.
How many days all this covers is less clear. Before the crisis, government and private stocks together covered about 206.9 days, and the state's strategic stocks alone about 116 days on the IEA basis, according to the National Assembly Research Service as quoted by Energy Daily (4 September 2026); we found no 2026 figure. The EIA's estimate, an average of 79 million barrels of strategic stocks in 2025, uses a different scope than KNOC.
5. How big is China's oil stockpile?
Only estimates exist, and they point to a very large stockpile that has been drawn down in several months since May 2026: the EIA put China's crude inventories at nearly 1.4 billion barrels in December 2025, about 360 million of it government-held and about 1 billion commercial. China itself does not report oil inventory data. In 2025 it added an average of 1.1 million barrels a day to these stocks (EIA, 20 April 2026). Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) estimated 1.39 billion barrels when the war began, about 120 days of net crude imports, without disclosing its data (4 March 2026).
Kpler estimated onshore stocks at around 1,232 million barrels on 25 May, down from a peak of 1,251 million in early May. Crude imports fell to 8.1 million barrels a day in the second quarter, 32% less than in the first; imports dropped by 3.9 million barrels a day while refinery runs fell by only 2.2 million, which points to stock draws (EIA, 31 July 2026). For August, Reuters columnist Clyde Russell calculated an implied draw of 640,000 barrels a day, the third draw in four months, and the IEA reported that non-OECD inventories fell by 52 million barrels in August, “led by China”.
China's exposure: 42% of its crude imports came from the Middle East in 2025, and 45 to 50% transit Hormuz (CGEP). In March the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) told exporters to halt new deals for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel (BusinessToday, citing Reuters and Bloomberg); controls eased from July, with 2.7 million tonnes of exports allowed for August (Hydrocarbon Processing).
6. How much oil do India, Taiwan and Thailand hold?
On 23 March 2026, the date of the latest fill level we found, India's strategic caverns were about 64% full: they held 3.372 million tonnes of crude against a capacity of 5.33 million tonnes at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur (written reply by Minister of State Suresh Gopi to the Rajya Sabha, via Business Standard). Run by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL), the caverns would cover about 9.5 days when full. We found no report of a release in 2026; India is not an IEA member. Counting company tanks, the government's PIB Fact Check put current cover at about 60 days in late March, against a storage capacity of about 74 days (via All India Radio), while Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri spoke of 76 to 80 days in June (via Outlook Business). The two statements have not been reconciled. Russia provided 56% of India's crude imports in July and 44% in August (Business Standard, Kpler data).
Taiwan's legal minimum is clear, its actual stock level is not. By law, refiners and importers must hold 60 days of domestic sales and the state another 30 days (Energy Administration, Ministry of Economic Affairs). Economy Minister Kung spoke of crude for “more than 100 days” on 6 March (Taipei Times), while the Atlantic Council wrote of “about 150 days” on 19 March. In Thailand the headline figure includes oil that is not yet on land: the energy ministry reported 108 days of cover on 1 May, according to Nation Thailand, but that total counts cargoes at sea and contracted deliveries; stocks on land came to 49 days (own calculation).
| Country | Figure | Counting method | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan (for comparison) | 176 days (state 89, companies 83, producer-joint 3) | IEA basis: days of net imports, including LPG | 31 Jul 2026 | ANRE monthly report, September 2026 |
| Taiwan | obligation: 60 days for refiners and importers, plus 30 days held by the state | legal minimum in days of domestic sales (Petroleum Administration Act, Art. 24), not an actual stock level | undated, accessed 23 Sep 2026 | Energy Administration (經濟部能源署) |
| Taiwan | crude for “more than 100 days” | statement by Economy Minister Kung, basis not given | 6 Mar 2026 | Taipei Times |
| Taiwan | “about 150 days” | basis not given; differs from the minister's figure | 19 Mar 2026 | Atlantic Council |
| Thailand | 108 days: mandatory reserve 25, commercial stocks 24, in transit 39, contracted 20 | cover including cargoes at sea and supply contracts; 49 days on land (own calculation) | 1 May 2026 | Energy ministry via Nation Thailand |
Every country we track, with source and date, is on the Oil Reserves Monitor overview.
How to cite: Global Oil Shock (Jörg Dässler), “Asia Oil Reserves 2026: Japan, China, Korea, India”, as of 23 Sep 2026, https://globaloilshock.com/en/strategic-oil-reserves/asia-china-japan-india/