U.S. crude oil and fuel stockpiles fell last week, as demand continued to outstrip supply, with commercial crude inventories drawing down even as more strategic reserves entered the market.
Crude inventories fell by 5.1 million barrels in the week to May 27 to 414.7 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.3 million-barrel drop.
The fall comes even though the U.S. government released more than 5 million barrels of reserves in the most recent week and as net crude imports rose by 83,000 bbl/d, the EIA said.
Refining runs fell by 236,000 bbl/d last week, the EIA said, dropping the overall utilization rate 0.6 percentage point to 92.6% nationwide, which is still seasonally strong, as the U.S. moves into peak summer driving season.
“Gasoline inventories showed a draw as implied demand kicked higher, despite record prices at the pump, while distillate inventories showed a minor draw too amid a tick higher in implied demand,” said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst, Americas, at Kpler.
U.S. gasoline stocks were only marginally lower, declining by 711,000 barrels in the week, while distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, dipped by 530,000 barrels.
Distillate stocks remain at all-time lows on the U.S. East Coast, which has few refineries and depends on transit from other parts of the United States and foreign imports. Refining use on the East Coast is running at more than 98%, highest in nearly four years.
Oil prices moved up after the data, with U.S. crude gaining $1.13, or 1%, to $116.38/bbl, and Brent up 96 cents to $117.27/bbl as of 11:32 a.m. EDT (1532 GMT).
Recommended Reading
Outlook: Current Oil and Gas Boom Cycle Opposite ‘in Every Way’
2022-05-24 - In an industry of cycles, here’s why the current oil and gas boom is unique and what experts at a recent industry event in Houston say operators need to figure out before the next bust.
Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Industry Faces Active Hurricane Season
2022-05-24 - An early outlook by The Weather Co. forecasts an active North Atlantic hurricane season, which could affect oil and gas supply due to shut-in production at platforms in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
Norway’s Hammerfest LNG Plant Extends Outage Another Week
2022-05-16 - Europe’s only large-scale LNG plant, at Melkoeya island just outside the Arctic town of Hammerfest, can process 18 million cubic meters of gas per day when fully operational.
Norway’s Hammerfest LNG Plant Resumes Output, Boosting Gas Exports
2022-06-02 - Europe’s only large-scale LNG plant, the Hammerfest plant in Norway, restarted LNG production following a fire almost two years ago, operator Equinor said on June 2.
E&P Case Study: Technology to Improve Oil Recovery of Water Injection Wells
2022-05-03 - Here’s a new autonomous outflow control device developed by Tendeka to improve water injection conformance and potentially create a short-circuit to production wells.