Record Smashing Numbers In DOE’s Status Report

Market TalkThursday, Mar 4 2021
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Buy the dip is the theme of the week as multiple selloff attempts have all failed, holding energy futures above their bullish trend lines and keeping the door open for a rally north of $2 for refined products this spring. We saw another example overnight as three cent losses for refined products have turned into two cent gains in the past hour. Despite the bullish pattern, prices still have some work to do in order to break through the high trades set last week, and if the worst rash of refinery shutdowns ever wasn’t enough to send prices above $2, the bulls may soon be hard pressed to make an argument for what it will take to do so.

Record smashing numbers in the DOE’s weekly status report caused by the unprecedented events of the past few weeks helped prices recover from an early round of selling Wednesday. That said, in total, those events have had a relatively muted impact on most fuel prices, in large part thanks to the unprecedented events we’ve been living through for the past year.

In the 30 years that the DOE has been publishing data, U.S. refinery utilization had never dropped below 66% of capacity. Last week, it dropped to 56% as the data caught up to the most widespread refinery disruption event in history. That drop, coupled with a surge in imports, created the largest crude oil build on record, and the largest drawdown in gasoline stocks, and yet prices were only able to manage a modest rally. For comparison, when utilization dipped below 70% following hurricanes Katrina (2005) and Ike (2008) we saw price increases of $1-$2/gallon in many markets. Today, even though utilization just smashed its record low, most markets are still trading below $2/gallon, and outages have been largely contained to small pockets of the country thanks to major refinery capacity expansions in the past 15 years and the sluggish demand caused by COVID shutdowns.

Diesel and premium UNL continue to be the biggest supply challenges as the refinery restarts continue their painfully slow process, although outages are proving to be short lived in most instances. Group 3 ULSD continues to be the standout for price action, surging to 30 cent premiums to ULSD futures as inventories in the region approach historic lows and resupplies are pulled to neighboring markets.

The OPEC & friends meeting is ongoing and so far there’s been little official word of what the official decision will be, leaving most of the market guessing on what the outcome will be today, or if there will even be an official announcement at all.

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Pivotal Week For Price Action
Market TalkThursday, Apr 18 2024

The Sell-Off Continues In Energy Markets, RBOB Gasoline Futures Are Now Down Nearly 13 Cents In The Past Two Days

The sell-off continues in energy markets. RBOB gasoline futures are now down nearly 13 cents in the past two days, and have fallen 16 cents from a week ago, leading to questions about whether or not we’ve seen the seasonal peak in gasoline prices. ULSD futures are also coming under heavy selling pressure, dropping 15 cents so far this week and are trading at their lowest level since January 3rd.

The drop on the weekly chart certainly takes away the upside momentum for gasoline that still favored a run at the $3 mark just a few days ago, but the longer term up-trend that helped propel a 90-cent increase since mid-December is still intact as long as prices stay above the $2.60 mark for the next week. If diesel prices break below $2.50 there’s a strong possibility that we see another 30 cent price drop in the next couple of weeks.

An unwind of long positions after Iran’s attack on Israel was swatted out of the sky without further escalation (so far anyway) and reports that Russia is resuming refinery runs, both seeming to be contributing factors to the sharp pullback in prices.

Along with the uncertainty about where the next attacks may or may not occur, and if they will have any meaningful impact on supply, come no shortage of rumors about potential SPR releases or how OPEC might respond to the crisis. The only thing that’s certain at this point, is that there’s much more spare capacity for both oil production and refining now than there was 2 years ago, which seems to be helping keep a lid on prices despite so much tension.

In addition, for those that remember the chaos in oil markets 50 years ago sparked by similar events in and around Israel, read this note from the NY Times on why things are different this time around.

The DOE’s weekly status report was largely ignored in the midst of the big sell-off Wednesday, with few noteworthy items in the report.

Diesel demand did see a strong recovery from last week’s throwaway figure that proves the vulnerability of the weekly estimates, particularly the week after a holiday, but that did nothing to slow the sell-off in ULSD futures.

Perhaps the biggest next of the week was that the agency made its seasonal changes to nameplate refining capacity as facilities emerged from their spring maintenance.

PADD 2 saw an increase of 36mb/day, and PADD 3 increased by 72mb/day, both of which set new records for regional capacity. PADD 5 meanwhile continued its slow-motion decline, losing another 30mb/day of capacity as California’s war of attrition against the industry continues. It’s worth noting that given the glacial pace of EIA reporting on the topic, we’re unlikely to see the impact of Rodeo’s conversion in the official numbers until next year.

Speaking of which, if you believe the PADD 5 diesel chart below that suggests the region is running out of the fuel, when in fact there’s an excess in most local markets, you haven’t been paying attention. Gasoline inventories on the West Coast however do appear consistent with reality as less refining output and a lack of resupply options both continue to create headaches for suppliers.

Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk, including all charts from the Weekly DOE Report.

Pivotal Week For Price Action
Pivotal Week For Price Action
Market TalkWednesday, Apr 17 2024

Prices To Lease Space On Colonial’s Main Gasoline Line Continue To Rally This Week

Energy markets are sliding lower again to start Wednesday’s trading as demand concerns and weaker stock markets around the world seem to be outweighing any supply concerns for the time being.

Rumors continue to swirl about an “imminent” response by Israel to Iran’s attacks, but so far, no news seems to be taken as good news in the hopes that further escalation can be avoided, even as tensions near the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz continue to simmer.

Prices to lease space on Colonial’s main gasoline line continue to rally this week, trading north of 11 cents/gallon as Gulf Coast producers still struggle to find outlets for their production, despite a healthy export market. Gulf Coast CBOB is trading at discounts of around 34 cents to futures, while Gulf Coast RBOB is trading around a 16-cent discount, which gives shippers room to pay up for the linespace and still deliver into the East Coast markets at a profit.

Back to reality, or just the start of more volatility? California CARBOB basis values have dropped back to “only” 40 cent premiums to RBOB futures this week, as multiple flaring events at California refineries don’t appear to have impacted supply. The state has been an island for fuel supplies for many years as its boutique grades prevent imports from neighboring states, and now add the conversion of the P66 Rodeo refinery to renewable diesel production and the pending changes to try and cap refinery profits, and it’s easier to understand why these markets are increasingly vulnerable to supply shocks and price spikes on gasoline.

RIN prices continue to fall this week, touching 44 cents/RIN for D4 and D6 values Tuesday, their lowest level in 6 weeks and just about a nickel above a 4-year low. While the sharp drop in RIN and LCFS values has caused several biodiesel and Renewable Diesel producers to either shut down or limit production, the growth in RIN generation continues thanks to projects like the Rodeo refinery conversion, making the supply in RINs still outpace the demand set by the Renewable Fuel Standard by a wide margin.

The API reported draws in refined products, 2.5 million barrels for gasoline and 427,000 barrels for distillates, while crude oil stocks had an estimated build of more than 4 million barrels. The DOE’s weekly report is due out at its normal time this morning.


Click here to download a PDF of today's TACenergy Market Talk.