Hurricane Harvey adds considerable uncertainty surrounding gasoline prices for the upcoming Labor Day weekend (8/30/2017)

EIA has traditionally published a gasoline supply and price TWIP prior to the Labor Day weekend, but the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey casts a great deal of uncertainty regarding what may happen over the next few weeks. On August 28, the U.S. average retail gasoline price was $2.40 per gallon (gal), the second-lowest price on the Monday before Labor Day since 2004. While the average Monday price was up 4 cents/gal over the previous week, prices on that date do not yet reflect the full effects of Hurricane Harvey. ... More »

Changing crude quality mix is affecting crude price differentials and refining decisions (8/23/2017)

Growth in liquid fuels supply since March has been driven by increases in the production of light crude oils, which have more than offset recent declines in the production of medium and heavy crudes. The divergent trends in light and medium/heavy crude production are reflected in narrowing price differences between crude oil qualities and operating costs across simple and complex refineries. ... More »

EIA's Drilling Productivity Report initiates coverage of the Anadarko Basin (8/16/2017)

To provide more complete coverage of U.S. crude oil and natural gas production, the EIA has expanded its Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) to cover the Anadarko Region, which encompasses most of the production from the Anadarko Basin in 24 counties in Oklahoma and 5 counties in Texas. The Anadarko Region has a long history of hydrocarbon production and, in recent years, has seen an increase in activity, mainly from two areas commonly known as the STACK (Sooner Trend Anadarko Canadian and Kingfisher) and SCOOP (South Central Oklahoma Oil Province) plays. ... More »

Strong domestic and export demand is outpacing U.S. gasoline production, resulting in stock draws (8/9/2017)

Gasoline production by U.S. refiners and blenders is running at record levels over the first seven months of 2017, with four-week rolling average production well above its five-year average and close to the top of its five-year range. Despite growing domestic and foreign demand leading to draws from gasoline stocks over the past seven consecutive weeks, gasoline inventories also continue to remain above their five-year average levels. ... More »

Seasonality of U.S. distillate consumption and stock levels is declining (8/3/2017)

Changes in demand trends, trade patterns, and fuel specifications have significantly reduced the role of traditional seasonal factors in driving U.S. distillate markets. Historically, distillate use in the United States was highly seasonal because of its use as a home heating fuel. In recent years, use of distillate as a heating fuel has decreased significantly, while its use as a transport fuel has remained relatively flat (Figure 1). Distillate stocks, which were traditionally drawn down during winter in recent years, have shown little change or even have built over the October-March winter heating season (Figure 2). However exports of distillate fuels, a growing portion of the overall disposition of U.S. distillate production, have actually become more seasonal in recent years, but because the net export peak occurs in the summer months, this change serves to offset the winter peak in domestic heating demand (Figure 3). ... More »

The This Week in Petroleum feature article will be published Thursday, August 3, 2017. All data has been updated as of August 2, 2017. (8/2/2017)

The U.S. average regular gasoline retail price increased 4 cents from a week ago to $2.35 per gallon on July 31, up 19 cents from the same time last year. The Midwest price rose over six cents to $2.28 per gallon, the East Coast price increased over four cents to $2.31 per gallon, the West Coast price rose less than three cents to $2.83 per gallon, the Gulf Coast price increased less than two cents to $2.08 per gallon, and the Rocky Mountain price increased less than a penny to remain $2.34 per gallon.. ... More »