BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 8. US refinery operations are set to ramp up, with an anticipated increase from an average of 15.4 mb/d in 1Q2024 to an average of 16.2 mb/d in 3Q2024, Trend reports.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), this surge in refinery activity is expected to contribute to a drawdown in inventories from the end of 1Q2024 to the end of 3Q2024.
Despite this growth in refinery runs, the EIA's forecast of US crude oil production over the same period does not foresee a buildup in inventories.
This is because tight global oil markets are expected to persist in the coming months, resulting in any additional production being either exported due to strong global demand for US crude oil or displacing some existing crude oil imports, the EIA analysts say.
Despite the significant increase in runs between 1Q2024 and 3Q2024, the EIA projects that overall refinery operations in 2024 will average 15.9 mb/d, a slight decline from the 16 mb/d seen in 2023.