# PADD 3 (Gulf Coast) propane stocks Propane and propylene in primary storage, EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report _Data through Aug 28, 2026 · source last checked Sep 2, 2026 · page revised Sep 2, 2026_ > Now 68.2 million barrels, 21.2% above the 5-yr median. PADD 3 stocks declined 2.0% to 68.2 million barrels as of August 28. The Gulf Coast sits 21.2% above the 5-year median and 20.4% above year-ago levels, well supplied in the height of the summer build season. ## The numbers | Period | Current | Prior | Change | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Week over week | 68.2 million barrels | 69.6 million barrels | -2.0% | | vs 4 weeks ago | 68.2 million barrels | 66.7 million barrels | +2.2% | | Year over year | 68.2 million barrels | 56.6 million barrels | +20.4% | | vs 5-yr median | 68.2 million barrels | 56.3 million barrels | +21.2% | ## About PADD 3 (Gulf Coast) propane stocks PADD 3, the Gulf Coast, is where most of the country's propane originates rather than where most of it is used. Refineries and gas processing plants here produce the bulk of US supply, and the salt caverns around Mont Belvieu hold the country's largest concentration of underground storage, the reserve that pipelines draw down to supply the Midwest and the East Coast through the winter. The Gulf Coast is also the export hub: cargoes loaded here for Asian and Latin American buyers are the biggest structural claim on the summer build, competing with the rest of the country for the same barrels. Stocks build here from spring through summer and draw down through the heating season like everywhere else, but because this region supplies the others, its five-year band reads on export demand as much as on winter weather. Export desks trade against this number. Cargoes load from terminals along the Houston Ship Channel and the lower Mississippi, and a heavy loading program can pull the region's stocks down in weeks that have nothing to do with weather anywhere. EIA counts propane and propylene in primary storage, which here means the salt caverns and terminal tankage rather than anything downstream of a dealer, reported in thousand barrels every Wednesday in the Weekly Petroleum Status Report for the week ended the previous Friday. Because the rest of the country refills out of this region, a Gulf Coast level running under its five-year band in September is a warning about the coming winter everywhere else, not only here. ## Common questions ### Is PADD 3 (Gulf Coast) propane inventory high or low right now? PADD 3 (Gulf Coast) propane stocks stood at 68.2 million barrels as of Aug 28, 2026, 21% above the 5-year median of 56.3 million barrels for this point in the year. A level over the band means more cushion than usual for the season ahead. ### What is the 5-year average for PADD 3 (Gulf Coast) propane stocks? 56.3 million barrels for this week of the year, measured as the 5-year median rather than a flat annual average, because propane inventories swing hard by season and a single yearly number would compare a March level against an August one. [Propane inventories and the 5-year average](/guides/propane-inventories-and-the-5-year-average) explains how to read the band. ### How do propane stock levels affect prices? Inventory is the cushion between winter demand and the physical supply that can reach a market in time. When stocks run under their seasonal band going into October, buyers competing for a thinner cushion bid up the [Mont Belvieu spot price](/spot/mont-belvieu), and delivered prices follow with a lag as dealers replace barrels at the higher cost. A comfortable build has the opposite effect: it absorbs a cold snap without a price response. ### When are PADD 3 (Gulf Coast) propane inventories typically lowest? The Gulf Coast low tends to arrive in March, but this region's stocks answer to export loadings as much as to winter. A heavy loading program can pull the level down in weeks that have nothing to do with weather anywhere. ## About this data - Source: EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report - Series: Propane and propylene ending stocks - Basis: Primary storage, excluding propylene at terminal - Geography: PADD 3 (Gulf Coast) - Unit: million barrels - Calculation period: Weekly ending stocks - Last observation: Aug 28, 2026 - Update frequency: Weekly --- Cite: PADD 3 (Gulf Coast) propane stocks: 68.2 million barrels, 21.2% above the 5-yr median (The Fill Line's same-week 5-year median, not EIA's published five-year average). The Fill Line, data through Aug 28, 2026. https://fill-line.com/stocks/padd3 Canonical URL: https://fill-line.com/stocks/padd3