MOSCOW (MRC) -- US crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories rose last week as the production rebounded from recent storms, reported Reuters with reference to the US Energy Information Administration's statement.
Crude inventories rose by 4.6 MMb in the week to Sept. 24 to 418.5 MMb, EIA data showed, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.7 MMb drop.
The rebound came as US crude output jumped by 500,000 bpd to 11.1 MMbpd, a level consistent with activity before Hurricane Ida slammed into the US Gulf Coast about a month ago. Analysts consider weekly production data less reliable than monthly figures, which are released on a lagging basis.
Refinery crude runs rose by 68,000 bpd in the last week. Refinery utilization rates rose by 0.6 percentage point to 88.1% of total capacity on the week.
US gasoline stocks posted a modest gain of 193,000 barrels to 221.8 MMb, compared with expectations for a 1.4 MMb rise. Gasoline product supplied was 9.2 million bpd over the last four weeks, or about 1% below pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 385,000 barrels in the week to 129.7 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.6 MMb drop.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for US futures rose by 131,000 barrels in the last week, the EIA said.
US oil prices briefly dipped on the news before rebounding to trade around even on the day, down 3 cents to US75.26 a barrel as of 10:39 a.m. ET (1439 GMT). Brent lost 14 cents to USD78.95 a barrel, also recovering some losses.
As informed earlier, Shell said earlier this month it observed damage from Hurricane Ida to its transfer station West Delta-143 offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. West Delta-143 serves as the transfer station for all production from its assets in the Mars corridor in the Mississippi Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico to onshore crude terminals. Shell said then it was not yet safe to send personnel offshore to learn the full extent of the damage and estimate the effect on production.
We remind that in late August, 2021, US crude stocks dropped sharply while petroleum products supplied by refiners hit an all-time record despite the rise in coronavirus cases nationwide, the Energy Information Administration said. Crude inventories fell by 7.2 million barrels in the week to Aug. 27 to 425.4 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3.1 million-barrel drop. Product supplied by refineries, a measure of demand, rose to 22.8 million barrels per day in the most recent week. That's a one-week record, and signals strength in consumption for diesel, gasoline and other fuels by consumers and exporters.
We also remind that US crude oil production is expected to fall by 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 11.12 million bpd, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a monthly report, a smaller decline than its previous forecast for a drop of 210,000 bpd.
MRC