Summary of Weekly Petroleum Data for the week ending April 3, 2020 ..................................................................
U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 13.6 million barrels per day during the week ending April 3, 2020 which was 1.3 million barrels per day less than the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 75.6% of their operable capacity last week. Gasoline production decreased last week, averaging 5.8 million barrels per day. Distillate fuel production increased last week, averaging 5.0 million barrels per day.
U.S. crude oil imports averaged 5.9 million barrels per day last week, down by 173,000 thousand barrels per day from the previous week. Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.1 million barrels per day, 8.4% less than the same four-week period last year. Total motor gasoline imports (including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components) last week averaged 493,000 barrels per day, and distillate fuel imports averaged 185,000 barrels per day.
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) increased by 15.2 million barrels from the previous week. At 484.4 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 2% above the five year average for this time of year. Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 10.5 million barrels last week and are about 10% above the five year average for this time of year. Finished gasoline and blending components inventories both increased last week. Distillate fuel inventories increased by 476 thousand barrels last week and are 12% below the five year average for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories decreased by 168 thousand barrels last week and are 26% above the 5 year average for this time of year. Total commercial petroleum inventories increased last week by 33.0 million barrels last week.
Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 18.3 million barrels a day, down by 10.7% from the same period last year. Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 7.6 million barrels a day, down by 19.2% from the same period last year. Distillate fuel product supplied averaged 3.9 million barrels a day over the past four weeks, down by 7.9% from the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied was down 22.0% compared with the same four-week period last year.
Black Blade (a.k.a. Dennis Erectus):
This week's EIA Petroleum Inventory Status Report is VERY SIGNIFICANTLY BEARISH as Crude inventories increased a whopping 15.2 million bbls, and Total Commercial Petroleum Inventories soared way up to 33 million bbls. and not much more room to put it. Refining utilization crashed just over at 75% down from the prior week. The same old story persists about Saudi-Russia Oil Wars and the China Virus but the elephant in the room that few are talking about is that we are diving headlong into a Greater Depression much worse than the "Great Depression" and the government thinks that it can simply "print' its way out of it. This "Greater Depression" was long in coming and wasn't actually that unexpected but many thought that they could put off the day of reckoning far into the further for the next generation to deal with. For energy investors the result is obvious - when the economy was running on all cylinders we needed a lot more oil and gas. Now that the roads are empty, people are "sheltering in place", and the stores and factories are closed down - the demand for energy has fallen off a cliff and yet we can't simply "turn of the spigots" as it were. So what do we do with all this new oil and gas production? Guess we can "give it away" or even pay someone to take it off our hands. It fact in some places that is already about to happen. We fully expect to see maybe 75% of smaler to mid-tier energy companies to file bankruptcy over the next few months. Nobody is making money at these prices except maybe the "fully integrated" energy companies. They can produce their own oil/gas, refine it and sell direct through their outlets and franchised operations. Everyone else is toast. Put a fork in it - it's done.
We have taken precautions - As for the "Blade Portfolio" this week we added to our Silver and Gold miners to the portfolio. Mostly we added EXK, FSM, AG, AUY, BTG, GORO, SBSW, GFI, DRD, SAND, OR AND WPM. As for other investments in the "Blade Portfolio" we continue to add T, VZ, D, SO, CNP, GRME, OHI, HEP, BP, RDS.B and NGG. We also continue to add to our eREIT (residential properties) FUNDRISE. As for the new property we are ready for renters this week. As for our Stripper Wells, we currently have one operating and shut in the other three. We currently have one rig working on keeping the lease current.
As always, get out of debt and stay out of debt, accumulate physical Silver and Gold bullion as "portfolio insurance", and stockpile supplies of long term nonperishable foods and basic necessities into storage. After all we do "live in interesting times". |
