US crude oil inventories for the week ended Sept. 26, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased by 1.8 million bbl from the previous week, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Government shudown
Release of the data Oct. 1 coincided with the first day of a shutdown of the federal government. EIA said it “will be able to operate for a period of time during the lapse in appropriations.” Lawmakers in Washington were unable to reach a deal for government funding before the deadline, pushing the federal government to shut down for the first time since 2018.
EIA said that until further notice, the EIA website will continue to be updated, publications will continue to be released according to established schedules, and that energy data will continue to be collected from survey respondents as scheduled.
US inventories
At 416.5 million bbl, US crude oil inventories are about 4% below the 5-year average for this time of year, the EIA report indicated.
EIA said total motor gasoline inventories increased by 4.1 million bbl from last week. Levels are the same as the 5-year average for this time of year. Finished gasoline inventories and blending components inventories both increased last week. Distillate fuel inventories increased by 600,000 bbl last week and are about 6% below the 5-year average for this time of year.
Propane-propylene inventories increased by 3.5 million bbl from last week and are 13% above the 5-year average for this time of year, EIA said.
US crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.2 million b/d for the week ended Sept. 26, about 308,000 b/d less than the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 91.4% of capacity.
Gasoline production decreased, averaging 9.3 million b/d. Distillate fuel production decreased by 25,000 b/d, averaging 5.0 million b/d.
US crude oil imports averaged 5.8 million b/d, down 662,000 b/d from the previous week. Over the last 4 weeks, crude oil imports averaged 6.1 million b/d, 7.5% less than the same 4-week period last year. Total motor gasoline imports averaged 668,000 b/d. Distillate fuel imports averaged 118,000 b/d.
