Oil market recap: week ending 12 October 2014

PIRA Energy Group has said that in the US there has been a large crude stock build, a small product stock draw and widening commercial stock excess. In Japan, crude stocks have built in spite of higher runs.

Gasoline

• PIRA has restructured its gasoline balances because of the steep decline in volume and the relevance of finished gasoline stocks and imports.
• There have also been changes to the EIA’s finished balance due to a decline in MTBE and a rise in ethanol.
• PIRA has complied a total gasoline balance, as well as one that separates the major sources of gasoline supply, namely refinery output, ethanol input, and total gasoline imports.
• The EIA’s refinery and blender production of gasoline is a combination of refinery production, imported blending components and ethanol.

USA

• Crude stocks have built over the last week, but less than the build for the same week in 2013. This means that the crude stock deficit has increased.
• The four major refined products built, whilst they drew in the same week last year. The deficit for this group has now narrowed.
• In total, crude and the four major refined products are in deficit of – 17.8 million bbls.
• All other product inventories drew less than 2013 draws for the same week.
• Cash margins for ethanol manufacture declined for the seventh consecutive week.
• Production of ethanol rebounded to 901 000 bpd for the week ending 3 October from a three month low.

Japan

• Crude stocks built due to a rise in crude runs and import levels.
• Finished product stocks rose slightly.
• Gasoline demand was slightly lower last week than the previous week and stocks built slightly.
• Gasoil demand was strong and resulted in a drawdown on stocks.
• Kerosene demand was strong for the week and yield declined.
• Refining margins remained soft with all the major product cracks weakening modestly.

LPG

• LPG prices fell by 10% and above in the week ending October 12 due to broader energy and financial market weakness.
• US stocks continued to build to further record highs.
• Strong price competition by naphtha in Asia has led to subdued petrochemical purchasing.
• An unplanned cracker upset in the Netherlands has left the NEW butane market long.

Edited from press release by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/14102014/oil-market-recap-12-oct-pira/