Foreign news on April 19, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) warned on Wednesday that its weekly refinery capacity utilization calculations may have been inflated before June because it did not take into account the large scale of refineries in Texas. expansion.
EIA calculates refinery capacity utilization as total inputs divided by the latest reported monthly operational capacity. While inputs are based on Americas surveys, capacity relies on lagging monthly statistics. The latest available data is for January.
Utilization data is closely watched by financial markets and energy companies as an indicator of future gasoline and diesel supplies.
The data mismatch stems from a recent expansion of Exxon Mobil Corp's Beaumont refinery in Texas, which added as much as 250,000 bpd of processing capacity. However, these capacities will only be revealed in the EIA's March monthly report, which will be released at the end of May.
The U.S. Gulf Coast capacity utilization data could therefore "increase to unusually high levels" within weeks, EIA said. The expansion was also excluded from the Jan. 1 U.S. midyear report measuring refining capacity.
The EIA has come under fire for overrevisions in its weekly oil inventory data, which is used to gauge supply and demand, and has sounded the warning.
Inventory adjustments peaked at more than 2 million barrels per day due to crude oil blending and underreported oil production, EIA said, adding that it changed its survey and calculation methods.
微信扫一扫打赏
