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Product Markets and Refinery Operations
60
OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report – June 2016
Refinery operations
Refinery utilization rates have been ramped up worldwide, with spring maintenance
approaching an end. In Asia, throughput levels continued at near-record levels in
China, South Korea and India. Meanwhile, in the Atlantic Basin, several refineries were
impacted by events in France and Canada.
Refinery utilization in the
US
averaged around 91% in May, corresponding to
16.3 mb/d, which was 200 tb/d higher than a month earlier. Refineries were running at
maximum levels in the USGC, with several refineries back from maintenance, thus
compensating for lower levels in other areas possibly impacted by a shortage of
Canadian crudes, which also affected refinery levels in Canada.
Graph 6.2: Refinery utilisation rates, 2015-2016
European
refinery runs averaged around 83% of capacity in May, corresponding to a
throughput of 9.8 mb/d, 240 tb/d lower than in the previous month and around 460 tb/d
lower than the same month a year ago. European refinery throughputs continued to be
impacted by some maintenance and in addition, in May, were impacted by the French
strike, which affected operations in several refineries, ports and gas stations in the
country. This caused refinery utilization in France to drop to 60%.
In
Asia
, refinery utilization has continued to rise, mainly in South Korea, India and
China, where Chinese teapot refineries contributed to continuing record-high levels,
hitting around 10.9 mb/d in April. Indian refinery runs hit 4.9 mb/d during recent
months, responding to strong demand growth in the country. Refinery runs in
Singapore for April averaged around 72%. Meanwhile, Japanese throughputs averaged
81% of capacity in May, 5 pp lower than the previous month as some maintenance
continued in the country.
US market
US
gasoline
demand stood at around 9.6 mb/d in May, approximately 190 tb/d higher
than in the previous month and more than 400 tb/d higher than in the same month a
year earlier. Stronger domestic gasoline demand has been supporting the gasoline
market. However, the crack spreads were under pressure due to higher imports, along
with the re-start of several gasoline/producer units. The temporary tightening sentiment
caused by crude supply disruptions due to the wildfires in Canada has been offset by
increasing refinery runs, with several refineries returning from maintenance.
60
70
80
90
100
60
70
80
90
100
May 15
Jun 15
Jul 15
Aug 15
Sep 15
Oct 15
Nov 15
Dec 15
Jan 16
Feb 16
Mar 16
Apr 16
May 16
%
%
US
EU-16
Japan
Singapore
Sources: Argus Media and OPEC Secretariat.