Petroleum Product Exports Set Record High in 2018
EIA notes 2018 petroleum product exports set a record high for the 16th consecutive year. From 2009 to 2013, distillate exports contributed the most to annual growth. However, from 2014 to 2018 exports of hydro-carbon gas liquids, which include propane, drove export growth.
As U.S. crude oil production increased during the past decade, gross inputs into refineries also rose. Petroleum products can be used domestically, exported, or put into inventory. In 2018, record-high levels of crude production and refinery runs helped refiners export large volumes of petroleum products, even with high levels of
U.S. demand.
U.S. propane exports reached a record-high 972,000 bbld in 2018, surpassing the previous record of 914,000 bbld set in 2017. Propane exports surpassed motor gasoline exports for the third consecutive year and remained the second-largest U.S. petroleum product exported last year.
Unlike other U.S. petroleum product exports, which tend to stay in the Western Hemisphere, significant volumes of U.S. propane often reach Asian markets, home to three of the top five destinations. Japan received the largest share at 258,000 bbld, or 27%, of total U.S. pro- pane exports and an increase of 48,000 bbld from 2017 volumes. Exports to South Korea increased by 25,000 bbld and to the Netherlands by 21,000 bbld. However, exports to China fell by 62,000 bbld, a 49% year-over- year decline. Mexico received the second-largest share of U.S. propane exports again in 2018 at an average of 131,000 bbld, which was down 7000 bbld from 2017.
Despite an 80,000-bbld decrease in exports compared with 2017, distillates remained the most-exported petroleum product in 2018, averaging 1.3 MMbbld, or about 25% of U.S. refinery production. Distillate exports were still more than 100,000 bbld higher than the previous five-year average (2013-2017). The U.S. exported dis- tillates to 64 different countries last year, with the largest volumes destined for Mexico.
Mexico received an average of 298,000 bbld, or 23%, of U.S. distillate exports, increasing 42,000 bbld compared with 2017 levels. Increasing exports to Mexico were likely driven by the country’s refineries continuing to operate under capacity in 2018, as reported by the trade press. Brazil received the second-largest share of distillates from the U.S., averaging 151,000 bbld, or 12%, of exports. That level was down 57,000 bbld from 2017. Chile, Peru, and the Netherlands made up the remainder of the top five recipients of U.S. distillate exports.
U.S. exports of motor gasoline, again, including blending components, reached 44 countries last year and set a record high of 951,000 bbld, an increase of 126,000 bbld from 2017. This increase in exports came despite strong U.S. consumption of gasoline at 9.3 MMbbld in 2018, only slightly lower than the record-setting level of consumption set in 2017.
U.S. refiner and blender net production of finished motor gasoline increased more than 100,000 bbld to 10.1 MMbbld in 2018, a record high, and helped contribute to the simultaneous high levels of domestic consumption and export volumes. The five largest shares of U.S. gasoline exports were all in the Americas. In 2018, Mexico received 529,000 bbld, or 56%, of total exports, which was 60,000 bbld more than the prior year. Exports to Canada increased by 25,000 bbld to average 62,000 bbld, 6% of total exports, in 2018.
(SOURCE: The Weekly Propane Newsletter, April 8, 2019)
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