Over
the past decade, domestic refinery output of petroleum products has
grown significantly while consumption has declined, resulting in a major
increase in product exports. Petroleum product exports averaged 4.1
million barrels per day (b/d) in the first four months of the year, an
increase of 0.5 million b/d over exports the same time last year.
Product imports are also higher than last year, but to a lesser extent,
leading to an increase in net petroleum product exports.
Import
and export patterns vary by region, with most exports leaving from the
Gulf Coast (Petroleum Administration for Defense District 3), and
imports coming to the East Coast (PADD 1). Record-high refinery runs and
increased global demand for petroleum products from the United States
continue to push exports higher.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly. Note: Totals may not add because of independent rounding.
More
than half of the country's refinery capacity is located in PADD 3, and
roughly 75% of U.S. product exports are sent from that region. Through
April, Gulf Coast petroleum product exports were up 444,000 b/d compared
with the same time last year. Gasoline, distillate, and jet fuel
exports combined accounted for 40% of the increase. Higher levels of
gasoline and distillate exports were sent to countries in the Western
Hemisphere, while gasoline exports to Africa decreased slightly. Jet
fuel exports have primarily increased to Western Europe, Central America
(plus Mexico), and South America, and to a lesser extent Africa.
Propane and naphtha exports are each more than 150,000 b/d higher than
last year, and are primarily sent to Asia.
Product imports remain
an important source of supply on the East Coast, supplementing in-region
refinery production and receipts from the Gulf Coast and, to a lesser
extent, from the Midwest (PADD 2). U.S. motor gasoline product supplied
has been 71,000 b/d higher so far in 2015 compared with last year, and
imports of total motor gasoline (including both blending components and
finished gasoline) have increased by 103,000 b/d.
Petroleum
product markets on the West Coast are typically tightly balanced, with
in-region refinery production nearly evenly matched with demand. The
West Coast is largely isolated from the rest of the country's petroleum
markets because there are no pipelines that cross the Rocky Mountains.
However, in recent years, the region's supply of distillate fuel has
exceeded demand and, as a result, exports have increased. West Coast
distillate exports averaged 117,000 b/d so far this year, in line with
the previous two years and 37,000 b/d higher than in 2012. During times
of supply disruptions, imports to the West Coast often increase to
replace lost supply from in-region refineries, as has been the case so
far in 2015. Following an outage
caused by an explosion and fire at ExxonMobil's Torrance, California,
refinery in mid-February, gasoline imports to the West Coast increased,
and they have averaged 37,000 b/d so far this year, more than double
compared with the same time last year.
The future of net exports
will depend on underlying trends in both output and consumption of
petroleum products. Future output will reflect both U.S. refinery runs
and the production of hydrocarbon gas liquids outside of refineries.
Future domestic consumption will reflect prices, economic activity, and
policies such as fuel economy standards for both light- and heavy-duty
vehicles. So long as domestic output of petroleum products grows faster
than their consumption, net petroleum product exports will continue to
rise.
http://www.theenergycollective.com/todayinenergy/2247491/net-petroleum-product-exports-continue-increase