Oil Storage Report - Feb 28
Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2018 4:33 pm
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude oil inventories increased by 3.0 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 23.
That compared with analysts' expectations for a gain of around 2.4 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a supply-increase of 933,000 barrels.
Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the key delivery point for Nymex crude, decreased by 1.2 million barrels last week, the EIA said.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 423.5 million barrels as of last week, which the EIA considered to be in the lower half of the average range for this time of year.
U.S. crude oil production rose to an all-time high of 10.28 million barrels per day, keeping it above Saudi Arabia's output levels and within reach of Russia, the world's biggest crude producer.
Analysts and traders have recently warned that booming U.S. shale oil production could potentially derail OPEC's effort to end a supply glut.
The report also showed that gasoline inventories increased by 2.5 million barrels, compared to expectations for a decline of 0.1 million barrels. For distillate inventories including diesel, the EIA reported a drop of 1.0 million barrels.
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You may have notice as you pass filling stations that diesel now sells for $0.50 to $0.70 per gallon more than gasoline. The gap may continue to widen because the high API gravity oil that comes from the shale plays cannot be refined into diesel. Also, have you noticed that gasoline is still quite cheap even though the oil price is much higher?
It is not only normal but absolutely necessary that U.S. crude oil inventories build this time of year, so refiners have the feedstock they will need in Q2. Demand for crude oil is expected to increase by 2 million barrels per day in April. In 2017, U.S. refiners alone drew 2.0 MMBbls per day more oil from storage from mid-February to mid-April.
That compared with analysts' expectations for a gain of around 2.4 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a supply-increase of 933,000 barrels.
Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the key delivery point for Nymex crude, decreased by 1.2 million barrels last week, the EIA said.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 423.5 million barrels as of last week, which the EIA considered to be in the lower half of the average range for this time of year.
U.S. crude oil production rose to an all-time high of 10.28 million barrels per day, keeping it above Saudi Arabia's output levels and within reach of Russia, the world's biggest crude producer.
Analysts and traders have recently warned that booming U.S. shale oil production could potentially derail OPEC's effort to end a supply glut.
The report also showed that gasoline inventories increased by 2.5 million barrels, compared to expectations for a decline of 0.1 million barrels. For distillate inventories including diesel, the EIA reported a drop of 1.0 million barrels.
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You may have notice as you pass filling stations that diesel now sells for $0.50 to $0.70 per gallon more than gasoline. The gap may continue to widen because the high API gravity oil that comes from the shale plays cannot be refined into diesel. Also, have you noticed that gasoline is still quite cheap even though the oil price is much higher?
It is not only normal but absolutely necessary that U.S. crude oil inventories build this time of year, so refiners have the feedstock they will need in Q2. Demand for crude oil is expected to increase by 2 million barrels per day in April. In 2017, U.S. refiners alone drew 2.0 MMBbls per day more oil from storage from mid-February to mid-April.