By the OGJ Online Staff
WASHINGTON, DC, Oct. 17 -- The American Petroleum Institute reported Wednesday that jet fuel deliveries fell nearly 10% in September due to reduced air travel following terrorist attacks.
API blamed those incidents and a lackluster economy for a 3.7% drop in the month's petroleum product deliveries compared to September 2000.
US petroleum product deliveries, a key measure of consumer demand, declined 1.6% in the third quarter, the first quarterly drop since 1997.
With commercial airlines grounded for several days, followed by reduced flight schedules, kerosine jet fuel deliveries of 1.581 million b/d were down 9.7% compared to September a year ago. Jet fuel production of 1.46 million b/d was down 11.1% from a year ago.
Gasoline deliveries of 8.475 million b/d were down 0.5% compared to a year ago, but they increased 1.2% comparing the third quarters of last year and 2001.
API said, "Although there was some consumer price-supply nervousness detected because of the New York and Washington attacks, whatever unusual behavior that did occur subsided quickly when it became obvious that gasoline supplies and refinery operations were unaffected."
It said the slowing economy was clearly apparent in deliveries of distillate fuel, which is used to make home heating oil and diesel fuel. They went from 11.6% in this year's first quarter, when compared to the same period in 2000, down to 1.6% in the third quarter. Comparing September to the same month last year, distillate deliveries of 3.664 million b/d fell 3.2%.
On the supply side, Alaska crude oil production of 942,000 b/d was up 5.6% compared to a year ago. It was the fifth consecutive month that Alaska's production has increased. Overall domestic crude oil increased 0.8% compared to a year ago, said the API report.
Natural gas liquids production of 1.907 million b/d was 0.8% lower than a year ago.
Crude imports of 9.159 million b/d were 3.4% lower than a year ago. Imports of crude and products were 11.401 million b/d, off 4.2%. Imports of refined gasoline and components of 737,000 b/d were 8.2% higher, imported distillate was down 18%, jet fuel was up 10.9%, and residual was up 2.2%.
Total stocks were 1.013 billion bbl, up 1.3% from last month and 5.9% higher than September 2000.
Input to crude oil refinery units was 15.350 million b/d in September, 1.5% lower than a year ago. The refinery utilization rate was 92.3%.