EIA: U.S. Refinery Activity Posted Notable Decline Since Early 2024

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): The latest report published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicates that U.S. refinery utilisation has recorded notable decline since early January 2024. The falling refinery activity has put pressure on gasoline and diesel prices.

According to Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, the significant dip in refinery utilization has been mainly on account of reduced plant operations in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions and also due to seasonal factors.

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The U.S. Gulf Coast region recorded largest drop in refinery utilization. Since the first week of the current year, the U.S. Gulf Coast four-week average refinery utilization has recorded decline by up to 14%. For the past two week, it has fallen below 80%. The extremely cold temperatures and planned maintenance works are being cited as the primary reasons for the reduced refinery runs in the region.

In the Midwest region, bp had taken offline its Whiting, Indiana refinery on account of an unplanned outage.

The lower refinery runs have led to sharp fall in inventories of both gasoline and diesel in the country. The low U.S. Gulf Coast gasoline inventories are expected to contribute to higher gasoline prices until stocks are replenished.