Friday, September 26, 1997

Crude imports hit record level

By WILLIAM GARLAND / Harte-Hanks Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- United States imports of crude oil, propelled by the renewed availability of oil from Iraq, jumped to a record level last month, according to the American Petroleum Institute.

API said overall petroleum imports, including crude as well as petroleum products, also narrowly missed a record set last May because of weaker imports of gasoline and other products.

In an active month for industry trends, United States refinery activity also hit a recent-year high. Refinery inputs of 15.32 million barrels per day were up more than 5 percent from last year and "the highest level for any month in more than 18 years." High inputs and downtime at some refineries led to a 98 percent utilization rate for U.S. refinery capacity last month.

High refinery activity in July had caused "a quite substantial draw on domestic inventories," keeping some pressure on oil prices. "Refinery activity pushed even higher in August, but greater availability of crude oil on world markets shifted the source of incremental supplies ... away from further draws on domestic stocks."

"One factor ... was the renewed exports from Iraq, under the U.N.'s oil-for-aid program, which began in early August after a two-month hiatus," API said. "As a result ... U.S. crude oil imports, which had dipped to 8 million barrels per day (mbd) in July, reached 8.5 mbd, surpassing June's previous record of 8.4 mbd."

With the jump in crude oil, overall imports came within 100,000 barrels in August of reaching the all-time high set last May, in spite of the drop in product imports.

United States oil production was down last month from a year earlier by about 1.2 percent, or 80,000 barrels per day, in spite of the continuing trend for stronger output outside Alaska.

"In contrast to total domestic crude oil production's drop, there was fairly strong year-to-year growth in the lower-48 states," API said. Lower-48 production moved about 50,000 barrels per day higher compared to last August.

But the lower-48 increase "was overwhelmed by the substantial decline in Alaska. Production in Alaska dropped to 1.2 mbd, the lowest monthly level since 1978, the year after North Slope production began."