API: U.S. petroleum statistics show a robust industry in 1997

U.S. Oil Consumption in 1997 [72,847 bytes] American Petroleum Institute said the robust U.S. economy drove up demand for petroleum in 1997 by 1.7% from 1996. Edward Murphy, API statistics director, said an average 18,618,000 b/d of petroleum products were delivered to the U.S. market. Supplies were abundant. Last year, oil production in the Lower 48 increased slightly-the first rise in 6 years-while production in Alaska continued to decline. API said there was a significant increase in U.S.