EIA: Weekly Petroleum Report Feb 27

[dan_s]

Summary of Weekly Petroleum Data for the week ending February 22, 2019 My comments in blue.

U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 15.9 million barrels per day during the week ending February 22, 2019, which was 179,000 barrels per day more than the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 87.1% of their operable capacity last week. Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 9.6 million barrels per day. Distillate fuel production increased last week, averaging 4.8 million barrels per day. < Refiners should finish their Q1 maintenance projects and ramp up production beginning in mid-March. Look for refinery utilization to ramp up to more than 95% by mid-April and really start sucking down crude oil inventories.

U.S. crude oil imports averaged 5.9 million barrels per day last week, down by 1,605,000 barrels per day from the previous week. Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.7 million barrels per day, 10.9% less than the same four-week period last year. Total motor gasoline imports (including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components) last week averaged 473,000 barrels per day, and distillate fuel imports averaged 331,000 barrels per day. < Big drop in crude oil imports should draw more attention.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) decreased by 8.6 million barrels from the previous week. At 445.9 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 3% above the five year average for this time of year.
> Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 1.9 million barrels last week and are about 3% above the five year average for this time of year. Finished gasoline and blending components inventories both decreased last week.
> Distillate fuel inventories decreased by 0.3 million barrels last week and are about 2% below the five year average for this time of year.
> Propane/propylene inventories decreased by 1.2 million barrels last week and are about 11% above the five year average for this time of year.
>> Total commercial petroleum inventories decreased last week by 17.9 million barrels last week. < This should draw from "Trump Tweets".

Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 20.8 million barrels per day, up by 2.1% from the same period last year. Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 8.9 million barrels per day, down by 1.5% from the same period last year. Distillate fuel product supplied averaged 4.2 million barrels per day over the past four weeks, up by 4.5% from the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied was up 2.5% compared with the same four-week period last year.