US jet fuel demand plunges in aftermath of terrorist attacks

Oct. 22, 2001
US jet fuel deliveries fell nearly 10% in September due to reduced air travel following terrorist attacks, the American Petroleum Institute reported last week.

US jet fuel deliveries fell nearly 10% in September due to reduced air travel following terrorist attacks, the American Petroleum Institute reported last week.

API blamed those incidents and a lackluster economy for a 3.7% drop in the month's petroleum product deliveries compared with September 2000.

Deliveries down

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 with 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% vs. a year ago, but they increased 1.2% in a comparison of the third quarters of 2000 and 2001.

Market drivers

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 heating oil and diesel fuel. Distillate deliveries fell 11.6% in this year's first quarter, when compared with the same period in 2000, and were down 1.6% in the third quarter vs. a year ago. Comparing September with the same month last year, distillate deliveries of 3.664 million b/d fell 3.2%.

US crude supply up

On the supply side, Alaskan crude oil production of 942,000 b/d was up 5.6% compared with a year ago. It was the fifth consecutive month that Alaska's production has increased. Overall US crude oil output increased 0.8% compared with a year ago, said the API report.

US natural gas liquids production of 1.907 million b/d was 0.8% lower than a year ago.

US 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 fuel 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 last month was 92.3%.