The post-storm-recovery trend of falling crude oil inventories and rising gasoline inventories continued during the week ended Oct. 6, according to US Energy Information Administration data (OGJ Online, Oct. 4, 2017).
US commercial crude inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, dropped 2.8 million bbl from the previous week to 462.2 million bbl, which is near the upper limit of the average range for this time of year, the Weekly Petroleum Status Report indicated.
Total motor gasoline inventories gained 2.5 million bbl last week and are in the upper half of the average range. Finished gasoline inventories declined, but blending components inventories rose.
Distillate fuel inventories lost 1.5 million bbl and are in the lower half of the average range for this time of year.
Separate data from the American Petroleum Institute, meanwhile, shows a 3.1 million-bbl rise in US crude stockpiles along with a 1.6 million-bbl drop in gasoline inventories and 2 million-bbl increase in distillate stocks.
EIA reported that US crude refinery inputs last week averaged 16.2 million b/d, up 229,000 b/d from the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 89.2% of their operable capacity.
Gasoline production increased to 10 million b/d, while distillate fuel production remained virtually unchanged at 4.9 million b/d.
US crude imports averaged 7.6 million b/d, up 403,000 b/d from the previous week’s average. Over the last 4 weeks, crude imports averaged 7.4 million b/d, down 6.6% from the same 4-week period last year.
Total motor gasoline imports, including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components, averaged 860,000 b/d. Distillate fuel imports averaged 85,000 b/d last week.
With the aid of Gulf of Mexico production shut-ins caused by the threat of Hurricane Nate, US crude production declined last week by 81,000 b/d to 9.48 million b/d, still an increase of 1.03 million b/d compared with a year earlier.
On Oct. 6, 71% of total US gulf oil production, or 1.24 million b/d, was shuttered, the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement reported. At peak of the event over the weekend, 92% of output was halted, or 1.62 million b/d.
At midday Oct. 11, just 32.7%, or 570,000 b/d, of US gulf oil output remained offline.