EIA weekly Petroleum Status Report - August 22

[dan_s]

Summary of Weekly Petroleum Data for the week ending August 17, 2018

U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 17.9 million barrels per day during the week ending August 17, 2018, which was 89,000 barrels per day less than the previous week’s average.
> Refineries operated at 98.1% of their operable capacity last week. < Extremely high percentage for this time of year.
> Gasoline production decreased last week, averaging 10.2 million barrels per day.
> Distillate fuel production increased last week, averaging 5.4 million barrels per day.

U.S. crude oil imports averaged 7.5 million barrels per day last week, down by 1,496,000 barrels per day from the previous week.
> Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 8.1 million barrels per day, 2.2% less than the same four-week period last year.
> Total motor gasoline imports (including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components) last week averaged 817,000 barrels per day, and distillate fuel imports averaged 145,000 barrels per day.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) decreased by 5.8 million barrels from the previous week.
> At 408.4 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are at the five year average for this time of year. < But...way below the 5-year average for days of supply.
> Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 1.2 million barrels last week and are about 6% above the five year average for this time of year. Finished gasoline and blending components inventories both increased last week.
> Distillate fuel inventories increased by 1.8 million barrels last week and are about 7% below the five year average for this time of year.
> Propane/propylene inventories decreased by 0.9 million barrels last week and are about 13% below the five year average for this time of year.
> Total commercial petroleum inventories decreased last week by 2.5 million barrels last week.

Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 20.8 million barrels per day, down by 1.1% from the same period last year.
> Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 9.5 million barrels per day, down by 1.5% from the same period last year.
> Distillate fuel product supplied averaged 3.9 million barrels per day over the past four weeks, down by 7.7% from the same period last year.
> Jet fuel product supplied was up 3.7% compared with the same four-week period last year.
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MY TAKE: All of our liquids inventories (crude oil and refined products) are way below the comfort level of 30 days of supply. Refiners are running flat out because demand for refined products in VERY HIGH. U.S. refiners provide transportation fuels and feedstock to lots of other countries, especially to South America. Diesel inventories are dangerously low in South America. Last year at this time Hurricane Harvey knocked out more than 30% of U.S. refining capacity. It that were to happen this year, there would be fuel rationing on a very wide scale.