EIA: U.S. crude oil imports from OPEC are down, but imports from Canada remain high
5/5/2021
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly
Voluntary OPEC production cuts have been contributing to reduced U.S. crude oil imports from OPEC so far in 2021. Comparatively stable U.S. crude oil imports from Canada, however, have been mostly the result of longer-term trends. Between 2005 and 2020, U.S. crude oil imports from OPEC members decreased rapidly, but imports from non-OPEC members remained relatively high. In particular, U.S. crude oil imports from Canada more than doubled to average 3.6 million b/d in 2020, which was more than the combined total of crude oil imports from all other countries.
Crude oil production in Alaska averaged 448,000 barrels per day (b/d) in 2020, the lowest level of production since 1976. Last year s production was over 75% less than the state’s peak production of more than 2 million b/d in 1988. Production declined in 28 of the 32 years since Alaska’s oil production peak as the state’s oil fields have matured. The 4% decrease in annual oil production in Alaska in 2020 was part of a larger decline in U.S. oil production.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System transports crude oil from the North Slope of Alaska to Valdez on Alaska’s southern coast. Pipeline deliveries have decreased because of less production. Lower oil volumes cause oil to move more slowly in the pipeline, and the travel time for oil from the North Shore to Valdez has increased from 4.5 days in 1988 to 26 days in 2020.
by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) The U.S. Energy Information Administration on March 31 issued the first edition of its monthly Biofuels Capacity and Feedstocks Update, reporting that 20.431 billion gallons of operable U.S. biofuel production capacity was in place as of January. More than 24.657 billion pounds of feedstock was used to produce biofuels during the month.
The 20.431 billion gallons of biofuel production capacity reported for January included 17.339 billion gallons of fuel alcohol capacity, 2.301 billion gallons of biodiesel capacity, and 791 million gallons of capacity for other biofuels. The category of other biofuels includes renewable diesel, renewable heating oil, renewable jet fuel, renewable naphtha, renewable gasoline and other renewable fuels.
U.S. crude oil production fell by 8% in 2020, the largest annual decrease on record
U.S. crude oil production averaged 11.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2020, down 935,000 b/d (8%) from the record annual average high of 12.2 million b/d in 2019. The 2020 decrease in production was the largest annual decline in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s records. The production decline resulted from reduced drilling activity related to low oil prices in 2020.
In January 2020, U.S. crude oil production reached a peak of 12.8 million b/d. In March 2020, crude oil prices decreased because of the sudden drop in petroleum demand that resulted from the global response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The declining prices led crude oil operators to shut in wells and limit the number of wells brought online, lowering the output for the major oil-producing regions. In May, U.S. crude oil production reached its lowest average monthly volume for the year at 10.0 million b/d.
USDA and the U.S. Department of Energy plan to change two closely watched monthly reports to account for the rapid growth of the fuel. Reuters said details about the planned new reports came from USDA s monthly World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates. The changes are expected to be in place as early as this spring, an agency official told Reuters.