The American Petroleum Institute said Friday that after 4 consecutive years of growth, US petroleum deliveries stalled last year at the 1999 level.
It said that was despite economic growth that, for the year as a whole, was likely the greatest in over 15 years.
API said domestic crude oil production was 5.838 million b/d in 2000, down 0.7%, which was a slower decline than in 1999. Production in the lower 48 states of nearly 4.9 million b/d showed positive growth for the first time since 1997.
But Alaska production of 968,000 b/d was down 8%, the lowest annual mark since Alaskan production began in the 1970s.
"With no new federal lands or offshore sites available for expanded oil and natural gas production last year, US dependency on imported crude oil and refined products equaled an all-time high of 11.028 million b/d average for the year. That represented an annual increase of 1.7% over 1999, and it was a 13% jump last month compared to December 1999," API said. It added the US is now importing 56.6% of American consumer needs.
Despite domestic production declines, oil and gas industry activity increased in 2000. Operators completed nearly 50% more wells�28,050�than in 1999, when 19,000 were finished.
Natural gas drilling in the US in the last week of December 2000 was at a record high with 879 active rigs. Also in December, 255 rigs were seeking oil, the most in about 2� years, and far above the record low of 98 operating in August of 1999.
The 15.299 million b/d of petroleum put into refineries was the most ever observed at US refineries on an annual basis and represented a 1.5% increase over 1999, the report said. Refinery utilization rates in 2000 averaged 92.6% for the second straight year, exceeding the overall US manufacturing utilization of 82% of capacity.
Domestic petroleum industry deliveries�a key measure of consumer demand�slipped 0.1% compared to 1999. Gasoline deliveries of 8.348 million b/d were down 1% compared to the previous year and down 6.2% in comparing the two Decembers. Weak gasoline demand resulted from sharply higher retail prices caused by higher global crude oil prices because of foreign production declines, API said.
Growth in highway diesel demand helped boost distillate fuel oil production by about 3% to 3.672 million b/d. Kerosine jet fuel deliveries of 1.699 million b/d in 2000 were 1.4% higher than in 1999, but demand was down 4% when comparing December 2000 with December 1999.
Distillate fuel oil stocks, including diesel and home heating oil, ended the year at 118 million bbl, down 5.8% compared to stocks a year earlier.
