Refining works in the US

Crude prices rallied yesterday, above 85 $/b for ICE Brent crude, despite a rather neutral data release from the EIA. Indeed, crude stocks continued to be depleted at a rapid pace (4.6 mb) despite multiple maintenance and outages plaguing the US refineries (fire at the Baytown refinery broke last week). On the refined product side, stock builds in gasoline (8mb) and diesel (2.5 mb) reflected a still rather poor demand, especially on the gasoline side. Refining works will continue to reduce the product output in PADD3, as Valero’s hydrocracker in Port Arthur (57 kb/d) will be offline until the end of January for planned maintenance which will lower the diesel and jet output of the 600 kb:d refinery. Its 75 kb/d FCC unit, primarily producing gasoline, will be down at the end of February.