2017 EIA Energy Conference (6/28/2017)

There is no feature article for This Week in Petroleum today. Thanks to all who attended and participated in the 2017 EIA Energy Conference. The conference presentations are now available. ... More »

U.S. exports of crude oil and petroleum products rising, but trends vary across products (6/21/2017)

U.S. total crude oil and petroleum product exports more than doubled from 2.4 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2010 to 5.2 million b/d in 2016. While exports of distillate, gasoline, propane, and crude oil have all contributed to the increase, growth rates and market drivers for each product have varied during this period (Figure 1). ... More »

Growing octane needs widen the price spread between premium and regular gasoline (6/14/2017)

In late 2016, the difference between U.S. average retail prices for premium and regular gasoline reached 50 cents per gallon. This price spread has been generally expanding since 2000, and the rate at which the spread has grown has accelerated over the past three years (Figure 1). Many factors on both the supply and demand sides are likely influencing this trend. ... More »

Markets expected to tighten in the third quarter of 2017, then loosen through 2018 (6/7/2017)

World production of crude and liquids has been revised slightly downward from EIA’s May Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) for both 2017 and 2018. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) met on May 25, 2017, and announced an extension to production cuts that were originally set to end this month. The agreed-upon OPEC crude oil production target remains at 32.5 million barrels per day (b/d) through the end of the first quarter of 2018. EIA now forecasts OPEC members’ crude oil production to average 32.3 million b/d in 2017 and 32.8 million b/d in 2018, about 0.2 million b/d and 0.4 million b/d, respectively, lower than previously forecast. However, continuing production growth in many non-OPEC countries is expected to moderate the pace of global liquid fuels inventory draws in 2017 and lead to a small inventory build in 2018. ... More »

Oil companies’ proved reserves decline for second consecutive year as finding costs remain near historical average (6/1/2017)

Information in the 2016 annual reports of 68 publicly-traded oil companies indicates that their aggregate proved reserves declined in 2016 for the second consecutive year. In addition, reported finding costs—which are exploration and development expenditures per barrel of proved reserves added—remain near their historical average. The decline in proved reserves was heavily concentrated in a few companies that wrote down Canadian oil sands projects. However, low extensions and discoveries also contributed to fewer proved reserves additions. Together, the downward revisions, the amount of oil produced (withdrawn), and the lower extensions and discoveries led to a net decline in reserves. ... More »