California diesel inventories hit all-time low: CEC

Market: Biofuels, Crude oil, Oil products
30/05/24

Combined California diesel stocks fell to the lowest level in California Energy Commission (CEC) history in the week ended 24 May.

Combined diesel inventories — including in-state CARB, non-California EPA and renewable diesel — totaled 2.3mn bl after significant draws across grades, despite a sharp increase in-state CARB diesel output during the week, according to CEC data going back to 2005.

In-state CARB diesel stocks totaled 1.37mn bl by the end of the week and marked a 13pc drop from the week prior. Other diesel fuel inventories contracted by nearly 17pc to 929,000 bl.

Production of in-state CARB diesel jumped by nearly 40pc in the week to 128,000 b/d, while other diesel output — including non-California EPA and renewable diesel — plummeted by more than 44pc to average 51,000 b/d.

In-state CARBOB gasoline production dipped by 2.8pc to average 800,000 b/d from the week prior, although inventories added a nominal 1.8pc to a nine-week high of 6.10mn bl. Total gasoline production trended 2.7pc lower at 879,000 b/d.

California jet fuel production jumped by nearly 18pc to 321,000 b/d, the highest level since 19 April. Inventories grew by 0.6pc to 3.24mn bl, continuing a trend of largely stable volumes since 10 May.

Crude throughputs increased by 9.4pc to 1.44mn b/d as stocks shrank by 19pc to 11.1mn bl — the lowest volume since January 2024.

By Jasmine Davis

California refining throughputs and storage
Commodity	24-May-24	17-May-24	±

Throughputs '000 b/d
Crude	1,440	1,316	124
CARBOB	800	823	-23
Total gasoline	879	904	-25
Jet fuel	321	273	48
California distillate	128	92	36
Inventories '000 bl
Crude	11,098	13,670	-2,572
CARBOB	6,098	5,988	110
Jet fuel	3,235	3,215	20
California distillate	1,373	1,586	-213
California Energy Commission

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London, 3 May (Argus) — A core group of eight Opec+ members has agreed to accelerate, for a second consecutive month, their plan to unwind some of their production cuts, the Opec secretariat said Saturday. As it did for May, the group will again raise its collective output target by 411,000 b/d in June, three times as much as it had planned in its original roadmap to gradually unwind 2.2mn b/d of crude production cuts by the middle of next year. The original plan envisaged a slow and steady unwind over 18 months from April, with monthly increments of about 137,000 b/d. But today's decision means that the eight — Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, Oman and Kazakhstan — will have unwound almost half of the 2.2mn b/d cut in the space of just three months. The decision to maintain this accelerated pace into June is somewhat surprising, given the weakness in oil prices and the outlook for the global economy. The eight's decision last month to deliver a three-in-one hike in May was seen as a key reason for the recent slide in oil prices, alongside US President Donald Trump's tariff policies. Front month Ice Brent futures have fallen by about $13/bl since early April to stand at just over $61/bl. But the eight today pointed to "current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories" as a key factor in its latest decision. It reiterated, as it has in the past, that the gradual monthly increases "may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions." As was the case for May, delegates said that the main driver for the June hike was again a desire to send a message to those countries that have persistently breached their production targets since the start of last year — most notably Kazakhstan and Iraq, which each have significant overproduction to compensate for through the middle of next year. "This measure will provide an opportunity for the participating countries to accelerate their compensation," the secretariat said. This group of eight is due to next meet on 1 June to review market conditions and decide on July production levels. By Nader Itayim, Aydin Calik and Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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London, 3 May (Argus) — A core group of eight Opec+ members look set to today to accelerate, for a second consecutive month, their plan to unwind some of their production cuts, four delegates told Argus . As it did for May, the group would again raise its collective output target by 411,000 b/d in June, three times as much as it had planned in its original roadmap to gradually unwind 2.2mn b/d of crude production cuts by the middle of next year. The original plan envisaged a slow and steady unwind over 18 months from April, with monthly increments of about 137,000 b/d. But today's decision would mean that the eight — Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, Oman and Kazakhstan — will have unwound almost half of the 2.2mn b/d cut in the space of just three months. The decision to maintain this accelerated pace into June would be somewhat surprising, particularly given the weakness in oil prices and the outlook for the global economy. The eight's decision last month to deliver a three-in-one hike in May was seen as a key reason for the recent slide in oil prices, alongside US President Donald Trump's tariff policies. Front month Ice Brent futures have fallen by about $13/bl since early April to stand at just over $61/bl. While Opec+ has said that it is acting to support an expected rise in summer demand, the decision to speed up the output increases once again appears to be driven by a desire to send a message to countries that have persistently breached their production targets — most notably Kazakhstan and Iraq. By Aydin Calik, Bachar Halabi and Nader Itayim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Eight Opec+ members weigh further acceleration

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