Fredericksburg Leader

GASOLINE INVENTORIES SINK AS DEMAND SPIKES FOR CHRISTMAS

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly report today on the status of petroleum inventories in the United States. Here are some highlights:

CRUDE OIL INVENTORIES:Crude oil inventories increased by 0.7 million barrels (MMbbl) to a total of 419.0 MMbbl. At 419.0 MMbbl, inventories are 1.0 MMbbl below last year (-0.2%) and are about 6% below the five-year average for this time of year. Inventories in Cushing, OK, the NYMEX delivery point, fell 0.2 million barrels to a total of 25.0 million barrels. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) decreased 3.5 million barrels from the prior week to 375.1 million barrels and stands 37.0% below the year ago level.

Domestic crude oil production fell 100,000bpd to 12.0 million barrels per day, 200,000 bpd higher than the year ago period. While Alaska oil production was up 5,000bpd to 454,000bpd, production in the Lower 48 fell 200,000bpd to 11.5 million barrels per day.

GASOLINE INVENTORIES:Gasoline inventories decreased by 3.1 million barrels (MMbbl) to a total of 223.0 MMbbl. At 223.01 MMbbl, inventories are up 0.3 MMbbl, or 0.2% higher than a year ago and are 4% below the five-year average for this time of year.

Here’s how individual regions and their gasoline inventory fared:

East Coast (-2.1 MMbbl)Midwest (-0.4 MMbbl)Gulf Coast (-1.1 MMbbl)Rockies (+0.2 MMbbl)West Coast (+0.3 MMbbl)It’s important to note which regions saw increases/decreases as this information likely drives prices up (in the case of falling inventories) or down (in the case of rising inventories).

DISTILLATE (DIESEL, HEATING OIL) INVENTORIES:Distillate inventories increased by 0.3 million barrels to a total of 120.2 MMbbl. At 120.2 MMbbl, inventories are down 2.2 MMbbl, or 1.8% lower vs. a year ago. Distillate inventories stand about 7% below the five-year average for this time of year.

IMPLIED GASOLINE DEMAND:Gasoline supplied to the market amounted to 9.33 million barrels per day (MMbpd), or 613,000 bpd higher than the previous week. So far in 2022, implied demand (“products supplied”) is 3.0% lower versus 2021, per the EIA.

REFINERY OUTPUT/UTILIZATION:Refinery utilization increased by 1.1 percentage points vs. last week’s numbers to reach 92.0%. Gasoline production increased to 10.1 million barrels per day while distillate fuel production decreased to 5.1 million barrels per day last week.

Utilization rates for the last week were as follows:

East Coast: 89.9% (-3.7%)Midwest: 91.3% (+2.4%)Gulf Coast: 94.3% (+1.5%)Rocky Mountains: 85.7% (-1.1%)West Coast: 87.2% (-0.2%)These percentages show how much of a region’s overall capacity was used to refine oil. It’s important to note these percentages, because the lower the utilization percent, the lower output — which has a direct impact on local gasoline prices. If refiners in your region have low output, you’re more likely to see gas prices rise.

OVERALL SUPPLY:Total oil stocks in the United States (excluding the SPR) are up by 23.8 MMbbl (2.0%) versus a year ago and stand at 1.208 billion barrels (excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve). Including the SPR, total stocks are down 196.1 million barrels (-11.0%) versus a year ago.

IMPORTS/EXPORTS:The U.S. imported 6.25 MMbpd of crude oil per day last week, up 433,000 bpd vs. the previous week, while crude oil exports fell by 895,000 bpd to 3.47 MMbpd. Total motor gasoline imports last week averaged 536,000 bpd. The U.S. also imported 160,000 bpd of distillate fuels. However, during the same timeframe, the U.S. exported 856,000 bpd of finished gasoline and 1,324,000 bpd of distillates. In total, U.S. companies exported 9.22 MMbpd of oil and petroleum products.

Before the report was released, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down $1.30 to $77.66 per barrel. Just after the report was released, oil was down $1.47 per barrel.

Original source can be found here