The American Petroleum Institute reports warmer temperatures in much of the U.S. this winter contributed to a decline in the demand for petroleum products in February.
Total deliveries of products to the U.S. market were 18,221,000 b/d in February, down 1.5% from a year ago.
API said February was 13% warmer than a year ago nationally and even more so in the Northeast, where heating oil consumption is concentrated.
Deliveries of distillate (heating oil and diesel fuel) dropped 5.4% to 3,521,000 b/d, while deliveries of kerosine jet fuel, often blended to improve the cold-weather properties of diesel fuel and heating oil, fell 5% to 1,576,000 b/d.
Residual (heavy) fuel oil deliveries slid 7.7% to 949,000 b/d. Gasoline deliveries were up a scant 0.3% at 7,572,000 b/d.
API said refinery utilization was 88.4% in February, the first time it has been below 89% in almost 2 years.
Total stocks of crude and petroleum products were 924,900,000 bbl at the end of February, down 1.5% from the end of January and up 1.8% from a year earlier.
U.S. crude oil production in February averaged 6,451,000 b/d, down 1%. A decline in Alaska was mostly offset by an increase in the Lower 48.
Total imports of crude and products averaged 9,382,000 b/d, up 13.2% from a year earlier.
API said U.S. gas production grew 2.7% last year, compared with a drop in crude production of more than 1%. Growth in gas production came from the Gulf of Mexico and inland states, including Michigan and Wyoming.
It said the increase in gas production reflects a sharp increase in wellhead prices last year.
"In 1995, wellhead prices averaged $1.55/Mcf, the lowest since 1979. In 1996, the average price was 30% higher, helping to increase interest in gas production. Thus far in 1997, gas prices have fallen and are now estimated to be well below what they were a year ago," API said.
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