API says slide in petroleum product demand continued in October

Nov. 14, 2001
For the third consecutive month, US deliveries of major petroleum products declined in October. The American Petroleum Institute reported Wednesday that deliveries, a key measure of consumer demand, declined by 1.7% compared to a year ago.

By the OGJ Online Staff

WASHINGTON, DC, Nov. 14 -- For the third consecutive month, US deliveries of major petroleum products declined in October.

The American Petroleum Institute reported Wednesday that deliveries, a key measure of consumer demand, declined by 1.7% compared to a year ago.

The biggest decline was in residual fuel oil, used in heavy industry, which dropped to 25% below deliveries of last year.

Kerosine jet fuel deliveries, at 12% below year-ago levels, marked the first double-digit decline in more than 10 years. While jet fuel demand had been declining in the late summer, API said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks caused a substantial drop in October of 1.565 million b/d.

Gasoline deliveries, however, at 8.673 million b/d were up 3% compared to last year. From early September to October's end, retail gasoline prices dropped 34¢/gal. That translated into a 22% decline, the steepest price drop over that period of time in at least a decade. Compared to a year ago, retail gasoline prices were down 14%, the biggest year-to-year plunge in almost 3 years, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

A vandal's bullet fired into the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline in early October disrupted operations for several days and caused the state's monthly production to decline 5% to 914,000 b/d, compared to a year ago. Before the incident, Alaska's production had increased 5 months in a row.

Total US production was 5.783 million b/d, 0.4% less than a year ago.

Imported crude oil and refined products of 11.353 million b/d were up nearly 1% compared to last year.

US dependency on foreign oil and products is 58.3%, about average for the past 2 years, but less than the 60% recorded in some months earlier this year, API said.

With the summer driving season completed, gasoline production hit a robust 8.648 million b/d in October, 7.7% more than a year ago. That was a record for this time of year. October's gasoline output was about the same as last July.

Refiners made 3.842 million b/d of distillate fuel used for diesel and home heating oil. That was the largest amount in nearly 5 years and the second highest amount ever, API said.

October crude oil inventories of 307.8 million bbl were 10.8% higher than October 2000 and about the same as at the end of September 2001.

The refinery utilization rate was steady at 92.1%.