OPEC+ May Production Falls Short of Target

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Here are some of the most important stories in and around the refining business for this week as researched for the IIR/DOE report for the week ending June 24:

• OPEC+ pumped about 3 million barrels per day (BBL/d) less than its 42 million-BBL/d production target for May, and as the cartel's ministers gather for a meeting this week, it appears Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have limited spare production capacity. That news helped push up WTI prices 10% over the last week.
• Crude oil will be in the range of $140 per barrel this summer, according to investment bank Goldman Sachs. The firm cited persistent under-investment in the business, as a reason for the higher prices to come. The firm didn't explicitly recognize that producers' "capital discipline" has been used to divert surplus cash flow from higher prices to shareholders.
• U.S. crude distillation unit (CDU) refining capacity fell 1% in 2021, to about 17.9 million BBL/d, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). It was the industry's second year in a row of shrinking capacity.
• Across the nation, gasoline prices fell to an average of $4.89 a gallon as of June 29, but prices in California were significantly higher--$6.30. Diesel costs an average of $5.78 a gallon across the US, but in California that fuel costs $6.96 a gallon.

US crude oil inventories fell by a total of 3.1 million barrels for the weeks ended June 17 and June 24, the DOE reported today. Release of the data for the June 17 week was postponed due to a computer malfunction. The agency released data on inventories for the weeks ended June 17 and June 24 this morning.

For more information on the IIR/DOE report, click here.

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