Petroleum Products – Market Review

Petroleum Products – Market Review

Onyx Power and Gas Consulting continues with its weekly series providing the Short-Term Energy Outlook as of September 10, 2019. This series of news articles should provide a complete insight on the current conditions of the energy…enjoy, check out archives and come back each week for additional information on how all sorts of energy sources impact our daily lives.

Petroleum Products

Gasoline prices: The front-month futures price of reformulated blendstock for oxygenate blending (RBOB, the petroleum component of gasoline used in many parts of the country) settled at $1.55 per gallon (gal) on September 5, down 20 cents/gal since August 1 (Figure 6). The RBOB–Brent crack spread (the difference between the price of RBOB and the price of Brent crude oil) decreased by 21 cents/gal to settle at 9 cents/gal during the same period.

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The crack spread declined throughout August and then fell further at the beginning of September, when the front-month contract rolled to October delivery, which reflects winter grade gasoline that is cheaper for refineries to produce. The August monthly average gasoline crack spread declined to lower than the five-year (2014–18) range after increasing to the five-year average in July for the first time this year. U.S. gasoline inventories decreased in August despite what EIA estimates would be record high gasoline production if confirmed by monthly data. In addition, gasoline imports into the East Coast increased after the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery closed in June, reaching 0.8 million barrels per day (b/d) for the four weeks ending August 30, 22% higher than the five-year average.

Butane prices: In each of the past three months, butane spot prices averaged 49 cents/gal (Figure 7), the lowest monthly average prices in 17 years. U.S. butane inventories in May 2019 (the latest data available) reached 48 million barrels, 12 million barrels higher than the five-year average. Butane produced through natural gas processing was 418,000 b/d in April and May 2019, the highest level ever recorded. Lower prices have provided incentives to export butane as well as input more butane into refinery processing. In April, the United States exported 331,000 b/d of butane, the highest amount ever. In November and December 2018, butane refinery inputs of 363,000 b/d were also the highest on record. Blending butane into gasoline is one of its major uses. During the summer months, however, the amount that can be blended is limited by lower vapor pressure specifications. The limited refinery use contributed to the rising inventory levels and low prices during this past summer.

Ultra-low sulfur diesel prices: The ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) front-month futures price increased 4 cents/gal from August 1 to settle at $1.89/gal on September 5. The ULSD–Brent crack spread (the difference between the price of ULSD and the price of Brent crude oil) increased 2 cents/gal to settle at 44 cents/gal during the same period (Figure 8).
ULSD prices remained higher than RBOB from May to August for the second consecutive year. Even though distillate consumption declined in August to below the five-year range, exports increased and production declined, helping to keep inventories lower than the five-year average. Distillate exports increased to 1.5 million b/d for the four weeks ending August 30, which, if confirmed by monthly data, would be the highest monthly amount in 2019 and the third-largest on record. EIA estimates that production declined in August compared with July 2019. The production decline was also the largest year-on-year decrease since September 2017. EIA estimates that distillate inventories ended August 11 million barrels lower than the five-year average.

The professional consultants at Onyx Power & Gas Consulting are always ahead of the current issues that may affect energy consumption and pricing. Now is the time to partner with an Onyx professional consultant to discuss energy management and secure energy prices based on today’s stable pricing. Volatility in the energy markets makes it too precarious to take chances. Partner with Onyx Power & Gas in Making Energy Make a Difference!

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The information provided herein in this content is for general awareness and informational purposes only and does not constitute advice. Our goal is to raise awareness and share knowledge across the energy sector. The content provided here is not intended as a sales offering. For guidance specific to your circumstances, we recommend consulting a qualified professional. You should not place undue reliance on any “forward-looking statements”, which are not a guarantee of future performance. The future results of the energy market are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements.

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Thank you for the valuable services you have provided to CLARCOR over the past few years. Onyx has proven itself to not only be very knowledgeable in the energy markets, but also an organization of high ethical standards who has earned my trust.

With the year 2011 drawing to a close, I thank you and Onyx for the services you provided to our organization this past year, and especially for the energy management recommendations. We began implementing those recommendations last spring following an assessment of our spiraling costs of energy

Over the past three years, I have worked directly with Kevin Gooden, President of Onyx Power & Gas Consulting LLC on numerous energy management projects. Their full suite of energy management services is top-notch, and we have been very pleased with the work they’ve done for us as well as our clients.

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