API data show persistent slide in domestic oil flow

Domestic petroleum supply continues to deteriorate in the U.S. The American Petroleum Institute reports that May crude oil production was 6.345 million b/d, down 3.6% from May 1995. The last full year in which U.S. production fell below 6.4 million b/d was 1954. Last month's decline was due largely to a sharp drop in Alaskan production. Meantime, U.S. imports of crude oil and products last month were at their second highest level in history.

June 24, 1996

2 min read

Domestic petroleum supply continues to deteriorate in the U.S.

The American Petroleum Institute reports that May crude oil production was 6.345 million b/d, down 3.6% from May 1995. The last full year in which U.S. production fell below 6.4 million b/d was 1954.

Last month's decline was due largely to a sharp drop in Alaskan production.

Meantime, U.S. imports of crude oil and products last month were at their second highest level in history.

May imports averaged 9.979 million b/d, second only to the record 9.997 million b/d imported in February 1977. The import level was 14.2% higher than the volume of May a year ago.

Imports met 56.5% of the nation's petroleum demand last month.

Product demand

Last month's domestic demand for petroleum products, measured by total products supplied, averaged 17.66 million b/d, an increase of 2.4% from May 1995.

API data show gasoline demand averaged 7.934 million b/d, up 0.5% from May 1995. Kerosine jet fuel demand was 1.487 million b/d, up 1.6% from a year ago.

Demand for distillate fuel-home heating oil and diesel fuel-averaged 3.073 million b/d, 6.6% higher than in May 1995. Residual fuel oil demand was 778,000 b/d, up 2.1% from a year ago.

U.S. refineries operated at 93.4% of capacity last month, compared with 93.9% a year earlier.

At the end of May, combined U.S. inventories of crude oil and petroleum products were 931.6 million bbl, down 8.6% from a year ago but up 3.3% from last April.