Karen Matusic | 202-682-8118 | matusick@api.org
WASHINGTON, June 17, 2009 - Crude oil production in May posted its fifth consecutive monthly year-on-year increase, API data show, as increased offshore Gulf of Mexico production combined with higher output from North Dakota’s Bakken shale to push U.S. output above 5.3 million barrels per day.
At the same time. U.S. demand for oil in May slumped by more than four percent to the lowest level for the month in 10 years, according to API’s Monthly Statistical Report, as the economic downturn continued to take a toll on freight transportation and air travel.
Demand for distillate fuel oil (measured as deliveries), including diesel and heating oil, fell by 7 percent from May 2008, while jet fuel demand dropped nearly 9 percent. Gasoline demand mustered a modest year-on-year increase of 0.6 percent.
Year-to-date domestic crude oil production averaged 4.4 percent above the January-May period of 2008. Output is nearly 50 percent above year-ago levels in North Dakota where technological advancements like hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have led to higher production. North Dakota is now the fifth largest oil-producing state in the nation behind Louisiana, Texas, Alaska and California.
“It’s been a dramatic increase for that state - and one that accounts for nearly a third of the entire increase in U.S. crude oil production so far this year,” said API Statistics Manager Ron Planting.
Distillate output in May fell 6.1 percent from a year-ago while jet fuel output was down nearly nine percent. Gasoline production rose one percent in May. Year-to-date gasoline output averaged 8.8 million barrels per day, the second-highest level ever for the time period.
Refinery capacity utilization rose to average 82.5 percent in May. Refinery capacity utilization is down about six percentage points from year-ago levels, not surprising given the weak oil products demand, but refiners’ utilization rates are much higher than other manufacturing sectors. According to the Federal Reserve Board, manufacturers across all industries averaged just 65.8 percent of capacity in April (latest available data), down 11 percentage points from a year-ago.
Updated: June 17, 2009