U.S. commercial crude oil stocks are expected to have declined 660,000 barrels during the reporting week ended November 14, according to a Platts analysis and a survey of oil analysts.The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is scheduled to release its weekly data at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT) Wednesday. The EIA five-year average shows inventories falling significantly by 3.1 million barrels.

Refineries tend to come back into service in mid-November after performing seasonal maintenance, causing stocks to draw lower, and reversing the accumulation that occurs once the summer driving season concludes.

U.S. crude oil stocks are well supplied by recent historical standards. At 378.5 million barrels at the close of the week ended November 7, crude oil stocks were 4.9% above the EIA five-year average (2009-13).

Analysts expect U.S. refinery utilization rates to have increased 0.4 percentage point to 90.5%.

Crude oil runs increased during the last two reporting periods. Refineries processed 15.8 million barrels per day (b/d), compared with 15.4 million b/d one year earlier. During the summer, refineries were processing more than 16 million b/d each week.

In refinery news, the Phillips 66-operated Wood River refinery in Roxana, Illinois, completed planned maintenance November 11. Repairs began at the 306,000 b/d refinery September 18.

DISTILLATE STOCKS SEEN FALLING

U.S. distillate stocks are expected to have drawn 1.2 million barrels lower during the latest reporting week. The EIA five-year average shows U.S. distillate stocks typically draw 1.9 million barrels in this reporting week.

U.S. distillate exports to Europe rose sharply the week ended November 14 to 440,000 metric tonnes (mt) from 140,000 mt the previous week, Platts cFlow ship-tracking tool showed.

A tight supply picture in Europe improved the economics of shipping distillates after a prolonged period of closed arbitrage.

Exports provide an additional outlet for distillates, helping drain inventories and offsetting the impact from increased domestic production.

BP restarted a hydrotreater November 12 at its 413,000 b/d refinery in Whiting, Indiana. The hydrotreater, which involves distillate production, had been undergoing repairs since early October.

Total U.S. gasoline stocks likely were 600,000 barrels higher the week ended November 14, according to the analysts surveyed. The EIA five-year average shows inventory levels falling a modest 366,000 barrels in this reporting week.

At 203.6 million barrels in the reporting week that ended November 7, U.S. gasoline stocks were 1.9% below the EIA five-year average.

Gasoline stocks on the U.S. Atlantic Coast -- home to the New York Harbor-delivered New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) RBOB contract -- totaled 50.3 million barrels, 1.8% below the EIA five-year average.

Phillips 66 restarted the No. 40 fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) at its Borger refinery in Texas November 14. The FCC was closed November 8 for maintenance.

The Borger facility has two FCCs with a total capacity of 56,000 b/d. Petrobras' Pasadena, Texas, refinery restarted an FCC and sulfur recovery unit November 9. The 56,000 b/d FCC was closed in late September.

FCCs convert vacuum gasoil into gasoline and other high-end refined products. An FCC's closure could result in a gasoline-stock drawdown, unless imports increase enough to offset production losses.
Source: Platts