Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
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U.S. refiners produced historically high volumes of distillate fuels (a category that includes both diesel fuel and heating oil) and motor gasoline in 2011. By fine-tuning their production mix, refineries consistently set record levels of distillate production, most recently topping 5 million barrels per day (bbl/d) for the weeks ending December 2 and December 16, 2011.
In 2011, weekly distillate production was above the five-year historical range 25 times, and ranked second highest an additional 19 times. Finished motor gasoline production was robust over the same period, but was slightly more in line with production volumes at comparable times of year since 2006.
Because of its chemical composition, crude oil run through a refinery typically yields roughly twice as much motor gasoline as distillate fuels. Therefore, regardless of economic or other incentives, refiners cannot completely stop making some finished petroleum products in favor of others. However, by adjusting downstream processes and the types of crude oil used, refineries can optimize production to fine-tune the balance of their finished products output. For much of 2011, refiners saw favorable margins and robust global demand for distillate fuels. In order to benefit from these trends, refineries:
- Increased crude runs to maximize overall output. This explains why both motor gasoline and distillate fuels production levels are high relative to the five-year historical ranges.
- Shifted production mix. This explains why the distillate fuels production levels exceeded historical ranges in more weeks than motor gasoline production did.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on Bloomberg.
Note: Ultra low sulfur distillate spot prices shown as New York ultra low sulfur distillate spot prices; motor gasoline prices reflect New York RBOB spot prices.
Due to crude supply disruptions to European refineries for much of this year, the region has imported more finished products. Weekly U.S. gross distillate export estimates (bound primarily for European and South American markets) were at record levels in the fourth quarter of 2011, topping more than 0.9 million bbl/d in October and November, and exceeding 1 million bbl/d in December.
Robust global distillate demand has led to a significant inventory draw, despite heightened U.S. production. From the end of September to the end of December, U.S. distillate inventories fell by more than 13 million barrels.
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