US Oil Stocks at Cushing Delivery Hub Hit 2-Year Peak
(Reuters) — U.S. crude oil inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub have risen to their highest in two years, as outages at Midwestern refiners crimp demand and higher flows from Canada add to supply.
Stockpiles at Cushing, the delivery point for U.S. crude oil futures, have climbed for eight consecutive weeks after falling earlier this year. Overseas demand for U.S. crude and an end to refinery outages should reverse the build, analysts said.
"We're going to be sending more (oil exported) abroad," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group. "The supply side continues to remain tight if you look at the big picture."
A spate of unexpected refinery outages in the Midwest have added to the inventories, which rose to 42.1 million barrels in the week to June 9, the highest since June 2021, Energy Information Administration data showed.
RELATED: OMV Petrom Makes Largest Crude Oil Discovery in Decades
IIR Energy was tracking 579,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil offline in May in the central U.S., double the 256,000 bbl/d offline the same month a year ago, said Hillary Stevenson, a senior director at the company.
Outages at BP Plc's and Cenovus Energy Inc.'s 160,000-bbl/d Toledo, Ohio refinery and Phillips 66's 149,000-bbl/d Borger, Texas refinery likely have contributed to higher Cushing stockpiles, Stevenson added.
Slightly higher flows from Canada also added to the supplies, with Enbridge Inc.'s 702,000-bbl/d Flanagan South pipeline showing elevated flows in May and so far in June, said John Coleman, principal analyst for North American crude markets at Wood Mackenzie.
Canadian crude may have been sent toward Cushing as feedstock for a restart of the Toledo refinery, which had a fire last year, said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst for the Americas at Kpler.
Related News
Related News
- Freeport LNG Plant Runs Near Zero Consumption for Fifth Day
- Biden Administration Buys Oil for Emergency Reserve Above Target Price
- Mexico Seizes Air Liquide's Hydrogen Plant at Pemex Refinery
- Kinder Morgan Declares Force Majeure on West Texas Gas Pipeline After Fire
- Williams Delays Louisiana Pipeline Project Amid Dispute with Competitor Energy Transfer
- Venezuela Proposes Alternative Payment Plan as Weak Bids Surface in Citgo Auction
- Baker Hughes Wins Contract for Huge Aramco Gas Expansion Project
- Enbridge Picks Contractors for Great Lakes Tunnel Project, Securing Line 5 Pipeline Route
- Russia's Gazprom Sees Worst Loss in Decades as European Gas Sales Collapse
- Shell Nigeria Inks $100 Million Gas Pipeline Deal with Oyo State
Comments