U.S. Crude Oil Inventories Climb 3 Million Bbl, EIA Reports

US crude oil inventories increased during the week ended Sept. 18, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration. Excluding crude held in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, inventories rose by 3.0 million bbl from the previous week.

The increase brought US crude oil inventories to 426.4 million bbl. At that level, stocks were about 2% above the five year average for this time of year, the EIA report indicated.

The crude build contrasted with a decline in gasoline inventories. Gasoline stocks decreased by 1.7 million bbl during the reporting period and stood 6% below the five year average for the same point in the year.

Distillate inventories also decreased during the week, according to the agency. Those stocks were reported at 12% below the five year average, widening the contrast between crude inventories and supplies of refined products.

Propane-propylene inventories moved lower as well, declining by 1.2 million bbl from the previous week. Despite that decrease, propane-propylene stocks remained 20% above the five year average for this time of year.

Across the broader petroleum balance, total commercial petroleum inventories increased by 0.1 million bbl for the week. That modest overall gain came as crude stocks rose while several major product categories registered declines.

US refinery activity also decreased during the reporting period. Crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.8 million b/d for the week ended Sept. 18, which was 519,000 b/d less than the previous week’s average.

Refineries operated at 94% of capacity during the week. The utilization figure accompanied lower crude inputs, providing another measure of refinery operations during the same period covered by the inventory report.

Gasoline production averaged 9.6 million b/d. Distillate production decreased to 5.2 million b/d, matching the report’s broader picture of lower distillate inventories and reduced output for that product category.

Crude oil imports fell sharply from the previous week’s level. Imports decreased by 1.2 million b/d to an average of 5.9 million b/d during the week ended Sept. 18.

Over the latest four week period, crude oil imports averaged 6.6 million b/d. That average was 5.3% above the corresponding year ago level, even as the latest weekly import figure registered a sizable decline.

Imports of refined products remained well below the reported crude import volume. Gasoline imports averaged 401,000 b/d during the week, while distillate imports averaged 85,000 b/d.

The EIA also reported changes in product supplied over the latest four week period. Total product supplied averaged 20.6 million b/d, representing an increase of 0.5% compared with the year ago period.

Gasoline product supplied averaged 8.8 million b/d over four weeks. That figure was down 0.8% year over year, placing gasoline below the comparable period even as total product supplied registered a small increase.

Distillate product supplied moved in the opposite direction. Its four week average increased 0.3% from the year ago period to 3.6 million b/d, while the four week average for jet fuel product supplied climbed 6.2% year over year.

The weekly report therefore showed a 3.0 million bbl increase in crude oil inventories alongside lower gasoline, distillate, and propane-propylene stocks. It also recorded reduced refinery inputs, lower crude imports, and differing year over year trends across major supplied products.