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Released December 31, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--U.S. travelers during a messy weekend barely noticed issues at the gas pump after BP plc (NYSE:BP) (London, England) reported a problem at its refinery in Whiting, Indiana.
Travel club AAA listed the national average retail price for Monday at $3.03 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, about 2 cents lower than one week ago. That downtick came even after BP on December 26 reported a release from a pipeline that transports materials within the tank field at the Whiting Refinery in Indiana.
Whiting is among the largest in the nation, with a peak processing capacity of 430,000 barrels of oil per day (BBL/d). Seasonal maintenance at Whiting typically results in a spike in regional gasoline prices. Crude oil throughput was cut by 250,000 BBL/d as the facility's largest distillation unit was taken offline in September for maintenance. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Petroleum Refining Plant Database can click here for the plant profile.
The British supermajor reported that operations continued as expected while it responded to the pipeline release at the Indiana refinery. IIR Energy confirmed normal refinery operations on December 27.
BP, in a statement issued last week to the Whiting community local alert line, said the company was able to find the leak, stop it quickly and send vacuum trucks to the site for clean-up. BP also set up additional air monitoring for elevated contaminants.
IIR Energy found that regional gasoline prices did spike a bit on Friday, but only by a few cents, and any impact from Whiting had vanished by Monday. That followed a busy travel period, where AAA expected about 90% of the estimated 119 million holiday-goers traveled by car.
Rough weather could have impacted some weekend plans, however. An Alberta Clipper system brought heavy snow and rains to the Great Lakes region, and tornados as far south as Texas left at least four people dead during the weekend.
Demand, however, was showing signs of an increase in the days leading up to the Christmas holiday. Over the seven-day period ending December 20, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reported the total amount of motor gasoline supplied to the market, a loose proxy for demand, was up 0.7% relative to the same period last year.
Prices have been muted for much of the year, even during a busier-than-expected Atlantic hurricane season. Retail gasoline prices at the national level peaked at around $3.60 per gallon in April and it was in July 2022 that prices at the pump last topped $4 per gallon. Prices moderate during the winter months in general, however, as refiners no longer need to take additional processing steps to keep gas from evaporating in the tank, making it cheaper to produce.
Crude oil prices, meanwhile, account for about half of what consumers see at the pump. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the U.S. benchmark for the price of oil, was trading around $70 per barrel on Monday, relatively unchanged from last week. Prices have been range-bound since late August, when WTI was closer to $75 per barrel.
The DOE isn't expecting much change in retail gasoline prices either. It sees the average price at $3.30 per gallon for this year, falling to $3.20 in 2025.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Travel club AAA listed the national average retail price for Monday at $3.03 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, about 2 cents lower than one week ago. That downtick came even after BP on December 26 reported a release from a pipeline that transports materials within the tank field at the Whiting Refinery in Indiana.
Whiting is among the largest in the nation, with a peak processing capacity of 430,000 barrels of oil per day (BBL/d). Seasonal maintenance at Whiting typically results in a spike in regional gasoline prices. Crude oil throughput was cut by 250,000 BBL/d as the facility's largest distillation unit was taken offline in September for maintenance. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Petroleum Refining Plant Database can click here for the plant profile.
The British supermajor reported that operations continued as expected while it responded to the pipeline release at the Indiana refinery. IIR Energy confirmed normal refinery operations on December 27.
BP, in a statement issued last week to the Whiting community local alert line, said the company was able to find the leak, stop it quickly and send vacuum trucks to the site for clean-up. BP also set up additional air monitoring for elevated contaminants.
IIR Energy found that regional gasoline prices did spike a bit on Friday, but only by a few cents, and any impact from Whiting had vanished by Monday. That followed a busy travel period, where AAA expected about 90% of the estimated 119 million holiday-goers traveled by car.
Rough weather could have impacted some weekend plans, however. An Alberta Clipper system brought heavy snow and rains to the Great Lakes region, and tornados as far south as Texas left at least four people dead during the weekend.
Demand, however, was showing signs of an increase in the days leading up to the Christmas holiday. Over the seven-day period ending December 20, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reported the total amount of motor gasoline supplied to the market, a loose proxy for demand, was up 0.7% relative to the same period last year.
Prices have been muted for much of the year, even during a busier-than-expected Atlantic hurricane season. Retail gasoline prices at the national level peaked at around $3.60 per gallon in April and it was in July 2022 that prices at the pump last topped $4 per gallon. Prices moderate during the winter months in general, however, as refiners no longer need to take additional processing steps to keep gas from evaporating in the tank, making it cheaper to produce.
Crude oil prices, meanwhile, account for about half of what consumers see at the pump. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the U.S. benchmark for the price of oil, was trading around $70 per barrel on Monday, relatively unchanged from last week. Prices have been range-bound since late August, when WTI was closer to $75 per barrel.
The DOE isn't expecting much change in retail gasoline prices either. It sees the average price at $3.30 per gallon for this year, falling to $3.20 in 2025.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
