USA Crude Oil Stocks Rise by Almost 2MM Barrels

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), increased by 1.8 million barrels from the week ending September 19 to the week ending September 26, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlighted in its latest weekly petroleum status report.

This report, which was released on October 1 and included data for the week ending September 26, showed that crude oil stocks, not including the SPR, stood at 416.5 million barrels on September 26, 414.8 million barrels on September 19, and 416.9 million barrels on September 27, 2024. The report highlighted that data may not add up to totals due to independent rounding.

Crude oil in the SPR stood at 406.7 million barrels on September 26, 406.0 million barrels on September 19, and 382.6 million barrels on September 27, 2024, the report revealed. Total petroleum stocks – including crude oil, total motor gasoline, fuel ethanol, kerosene type jet fuel, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, propane/propylene, and other oils – stood at 1.695 billion barrels on September 26, the report highlighted. Total petroleum stocks were up 7.2 million barrels week on week and up 45.5 million barrels year on year, the report showed.

“At 416.5 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about four percent below the five year average for this time of year,” the EIA said in its latest weekly petroleum status report.

“Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 4.1 million barrels from last week and is the same as the five year average for this time of year. Both finished gasoline inventories and blending components inventories increased last week,” it added.

“Distillate fuel inventories increased by 0.6 million barrels last week and are about six percent below the five year average for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories increased by 3.5 million barrels from last week and are 13 percent above the five year average for this time of year,” it continued.

In an oil and gas report sent to Rigzone by the Macquarie team this week, Macquarie strategists, including Walt Chancellor, revealed that they were forecasting that U.S. crude inventories would be down by 1.5 million barrels for the week ending September 26.

“This follows a 0.6 million barrel draw in the prior week, with the crude balance realizing looser than our expectations,” the strategists said in that report.

Refinery Inputs, Oil Imports, Products Supplied

U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.2 million barrels per day during the week ending September 26, according to the EIA report, which pointed out that this was 308,000 barrels per day less than the previous week’s average.

“Refineries operated at 91.4 percent of their operable capacity last week,” the EIA noted in the report.

“Gasoline production decreased last week, averaging 9.3 million barrels per day. Distillate fuel production decreased by 25,000 barrels per day last week, still averaging five million barrels per day,” it added.

U.S. crude oil imports averaged 5.8 million barrels per day last week, the report pointed out. It outlined that this was a decrease of 662,000 barrels per day from the previous week.

“Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.1 million barrels per day, 7.5 percent less than the same four-week period last year,” the EIA said in the report.

“Total motor gasoline imports (including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components) last week averaged 668,000 barrels per day, and distillate fuel imports averaged 118,000 barrels per day,” it added.

Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 20.3 million barrels a day, up by 1.2 percent from the same period last year, the EIA stated in its report.

“Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 8.7 million barrels a day, down by 0.5 percent from the same as the last year period,” the EIA added.

“Distillate fuel product supplied averaged 3.6 million barrels a day over the past four weeks, down by 4.4 percent from the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied was down 3.3 percent compared with the same four-week period last year,” it continued.

Government Shutdown

A statement posted on the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget website on September 30 warned that “government funding runs out at midnight tonight, with none of the twelve appropriations bills nor a temporary continuing resolution (CR) having been passed and signed into law”.

“Unless a government funding deal is reached today, the federal government will experience its first shutdown since 2019 and its first full shutdown since 2013,” it added.

The White House website highlights that the U.S. government is currently shut down.

In a statement sent to Rigzone on October 1, the EIA said it “will be able to operate for a period of time during the lapse in appropriations”.

“Until further notice, the EIA.gov website will continue to be updated, and publications will continue to be released according to established schedules,” the EIA said in the statement.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget describes itself on its website as a nonpartisan, non-profit organization committed to educating the public on issues with significant fiscal policy impact.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com