Gasoline

Consumption of petroleum products in the United States fell to 13.8 million b/d in the week ending April 10, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the lowest level since at least the early 1990s, when the agency began publishing such data.

The energy platform of Mexico’s next government could negatively impact U.S. refiners and midstream companies, as well as the financial health of Mexico’s national oil company, Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), according to analysts.

With less than three weeks to go before Mexico’s July 1 presidential election, almost all the opinion polls predict Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as a surefire winner.

Theft of gasoline in Mexico is expected to increase by about 50% this year, costing Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) a record of more than $1.5 billion a year, up from $1 billion in 2017, Carlos Treviño, the state company’s director-general, said recently.

Nearly a year after MarkWest Energy Partners LP and Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s (MPC) midstream master limited partnership, MPLX LP, completed a $13.7 billion merger, the companies remain focused on creating more demand for Appalachian natural gas liquids (NGL) both inside the basin and across the country.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) continued to take divergent positions over a proposal to move the point of obligation under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.

In a story published July 1, “Appalachian Basin Lacks Adequate NGL Storage, Pipelines For Demand, More Crackers” (see Shale Daily,June 30), NGI’s Shale Daily incorrectly stated that Sunoco Logistics Partners LP’s Mariner East 1 natural gas liquids pipeline could eventually be converted to carry natural gas if an expansion pipeline is built. Senior Vice President for Business Development Joseph Colella said that if the Mariner East 2X pipeline is built, the Mariner East 1 pipeline currently in service could be converted to natural gasoline or become a bidirectional line for refined products, such as gasoline, diesel or jet fuel, for example. All three Mariner East pipelines would have a combined natural gas liquids capacity of up to 745,000 b/d, and could not be scaled higher, as the article originally said. NGI regrets the errors.

LyondellBasell said it would proceed with plans to build the world’s largest propylene oxide (PO) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) plant in the Houston area.

With persistently low oil prices keeping the cost of gasoline down, Americans’ view of the oil and gas industry has improved to a near 15-year high, according to a Gallup poll released on Monday.