USA Crude Oil Stocks See Another Build
by Andreas Exarheas | Rigzone Staff
click here to read this article at Rigzone.com
*this article was not written by Roseland Oil & Gas
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), increased by 4.4 million barrels from the week ending August 7 to the week ending August 14.
That’s what the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlighted in its latest weekly petroleum status report, which was released on August 19 and included data for the week ending August 14.
This EIA report showed that crude oil stocks, not including the SPR, stood at 428.8 million barrels on August 14, 424.4 million barrels on August 7, and 420.7 million barrels on August 15, 2025. The August 14 figure marked a 1.0 percent week on week increase and a 1.9 percent year on year increase, the report showed.
Crude oil in the SPR stood at 293.4 million barrels on August 14, 298.7 million barrels on August 7, and 403.4 million barrels on August 15, 2025, the report outlined. The August 14 figure represented a 1.8 percent week on week decrease and a 27.3 percent year on year decrease, the report highlighted.
The EIA’s latest weekly petroleum status report showed that total petroleum stocks – including crude oil, total motor gasoline, fuel ethanol, kerosene type jet fuel, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, propane/propylene, and other oils – stood at 1.538 billion barrels on August 14. Total petroleum stocks were up 3.6 million barrels week on week and down 127.8 million barrels year on year, the report revealed.
Crude oil stocks, not including the SPR, stood at 428.8 million barrels on August 14, the EIA’s latest weekly petroleum status report showed.
“At 428.8 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are matching the five-year average for this time of year,” the EIA said in its latest weekly petroleum status report.
“Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 0.7 million barrels last week and are five percent below the five-year average for this time of year. Finished gasoline inventories increased, while blending component inventories decreased last week,” it added.
“Distillate fuel inventories decreased by 1.5 million barrels last week and are about 13 percent below the five-year average for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories increased by 2.0 million barrels from last week and are 31 percent above the five-year average for this time of year,” it continued.
The EIA noted in its latest weekly petroleum status report that U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 17.4 million barrels per day during the week ending August 14, which it pointed out was 215,000 barrels per day more than the previous week’s average.
“Refineries operated at 97.2 percent of their operable capacity last week,” the EIA noted in its report.
“Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 9.7 million barrels per day. Distillate fuel production decreased, averaging 5.2 million barrels per day,” it added.
U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.6 million barrels per day last week, according to the EIA’s report, which outlined that this was a decrease of 746,000 barrels per day from the previous week.
“Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.5 million barrels per day, 1.2 percent more than the same four-week period last year,” the EIA said in its report.
“Total motor gasoline imports (including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components) last week averaged 366,000 barrels per day, and distillate fuel imports averaged 109,000 barrels per day,” it added.
Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 20.5 million barrels per day, the report stated, highlighting that this was down by 2.9 percent from the same period last year.
“Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 8.9 million barrels per day, down by 0.9 percent from the same period last year,” the EIA said in its report.
“Distillate fuel product supplied averaged 3.7 million barrels per day over the past four weeks, down by 0.8 percent from the same period last year,” it added.
“Jet fuel product supplied was down 6.3 percent compared with the same four-week period last year,” it continued.
In a market analysis sent to Rigzone on Thursday, Naeem Aslam, CIO at Zaye Capital Markets, highlighted that U.S. commercial crude inventories increased by 4.4 million barrels last week to 428.8 million barrels and that gasoline inventories also rose by 0.7 million barrels.
“That would normally create downward [oil price] pressure because more stored crude reduces immediate scarcity, yet refined products remain substantially tighter and refinery economics remain strong,” he said in the analysis.
Macquarie Forecast
In an oil and gas report sent to Rigzone by the Macquarie team this week, prior to the release of the EIA’s latest weekly petroleum status report, Macquarie strategists projected that U.S. crude inventories would increase by 3.9 million barrels for the week ending August 14.
“This follows a 17.4 million barrel build for the week ending August 7, with last week’s very large crude build injecting potential volatility into this week’s stats,” they added.
“Within this week’s crude balance, from refineries, we look for a minimal increase in crude runs, remaining at a strong ~17.2 million barrel per day level. Among net imports, we model a sharp reduction, with exports meaningfully higher (+0.7 million barrels per day) and imports meaningfully lower (-0.8 million barrels per day) on a nominal basis,” they continued.
The strategists noted in this report that the timing of cargoes remained a source of potential volatility in the weekly crude balance.
“From implied domestic supply (prod.+adj.+transfers), we also look for a reduction (-0.3 million barrels per day). Rounding out the picture, we anticipate a smaller SPR draw (-5.3 million barrels) for the week ending 8/14,” they said.
“While we model SPR releases as immediately benefitting commercial stocks, the precise timing of these flows could also add noise to weekly balances,” they added.
“Among products”, the strategists noted in the report that they were looking for “a gasoline draw (-0.8 million barrels), with distillate (-0.3 million barrels) and jet stocks (-0.1 million barrels) slightly lower on the week”.
“We model implied demand for these three products at ~14.4 million barrels per day for the week ending 8/14,” they said.
In its previous weekly petroleum status report, which was released on August 12 and included data for the week ending August 7, the EIA highlighted that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the SPR, increased by 17.4 million barrels from the week ending July 31 to the week ending August 7.
This EIA report showed that crude oil stocks, not including the SPR, stood at 424.4 million barrels on August 7, 407.0 million barrels on July 31, and 426.7 million barrels on August 8, 2025. Crude oil in the SPR stood at 298.7 million barrels on August 7, 304.8 million barrels on July 31, and 403.2 million barrels on August 8, 2025, the report outlined.
Total petroleum stocks – including crude oil, total motor gasoline, fuel ethanol, kerosene type jet fuel, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, propane/propylene, and other oils – stood at 1.535 billion barrels on August 7, this EIA report revealed. Total petroleum stocks were up 0.6 million barrels week on week and down 135.4 million barrels year on year, the report revealed.
Oil Price Drop
In a market update sent to Rigzone on August 13, Rystad Energy highlighted that U.S. crude oil prices had fallen more than $2 per barrel that day after the EIA reported a 17 million barrel build in commercial crude oil stocks. Rystad described this figure as “well beyond industry expectations and the largest weekly increase in recent memory”.
“The stock build reflects a domestic oil market that is lengthening as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve release program runs its course and exports ease, even as geopolitical risk from the Middle East remains elevated,” Rystad added in the update.
“The more significant story in this week’s data, however, is in refined products,” Rystad warned.
“Gasoline, diesel and jet fuel stocks drew in the U.S., and Europe’s Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub recorded steep gasoline draws, leaving product inventories at historically low levels on both sides of the Atlantic,” it said.
In a Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB) report sent to Rigzone on August 13, Bjarne Schieldrop, Chief Commodities Analyst at SEB, highlighted that U.S. crude stocks rose by 17.4 million barrels the prior week but pointed out that “U.S. strategic oil reserves (SPR) fell by 6.1 million barrels, so [the] actual rise was more like 11.3 million barrels … when that is taken into account”. He noted, however, that “that is still a strong build”.
by Andreas Exarheas | Rigzone Staff
click here to read this article at Rigzone.com
*this article was not written by Roseland Oil & Gas