Oil Storage Report - Sept 20

[dan_s]

Keep in mind that these are just estimates based on flawed formulas, which is why there is such a big difference between the EIA and API numbers.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude oil inventories increased by 4.591 million barrels in the week ended September 15. Market analysts' had expected a crude-stock build of 3.493 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute late Wednesday reported a supply build of 1.443 million barrels.

Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the key delivery point for Nymex crude, increased by 0.734 million barrels last week, the EIA said. Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 472.8 million barrels as of last week, according to press release, which the EIA considered to be “in the upper half of the average range for this time of year”.

The report also showed that gasoline inventories decreased by 2.125 million barrels, compared to expectations for a draw of 2.135 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell by 5.693 million barrels, compared to forecasts for a decrease of 1.633 million.
--------------------------------------
My Take: The hurricanes have caused a lot of confusion. Once things settle down in October we should see big draws from crude oil storage because refined product inventories will need to be rebuilt. I also believe that there is a bias in Washington to report numbers that keep fuel prices low. Voters don't like high gasoline prices. EIA is part of the Department of Energy. I think it is possible that a lot of people working there have a political agenda. BTW it is crystal clear that they have been over-estimating U.S. oil production by about 200,000 barrels per day since March.

[dan_s]

The EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) estimates that global crude oil supply outages rose by 209,000 bpd (barrels per day) to 1.9 MMbpd (million barrels per day) in August 2017—compared to July 2017. Supply outages rose 12% month-over-month but have fallen by 0.87 MMbpd, or 31.4%, year-over-year. In July 2017, supply outages rose from the April 2012 low.