WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following text is the summary of the
American Petroleum Institute’s monthly report on domestic petroleum
deliveries, gasoline deliveries and crude oil production for September
released Friday:

PETROLEUM DELIVERIES

Petroleum deliveries, as measured of demand, increased in September
from the prior year as the U.S. consumer activity inched upwards and the
industrial activity strengthened. Motor gasoline deliveries, up by 0.3
percent, and distillate fuel deliveries, up by 9.3 percent, are good
indicators of consumer and industrial activity respectively. Distillate
deliveries reached a record high for the month of September. The
Consumer Confidence Index, as measured by the Consumer Conference Board,
increased by 0.2 from the prior month to 45.4 in September. Industrial
production in the manufacturing sector, as measured by the Federal
Reserve, was up by 3.9 from September 2010, to reach 90.9.

Gasoline deliveries, at 9.1 million barrels per day, were up
slightly from August by just 11 thousand barrels per day. On a
year-to-date basis, gasoline deliveries were down 1.3 percent from 2010.
For the third quarter, gasoline deliveries were up by just 0.1 percent.
Distillate fuel deliveries, at 4.2 million barrels per day, were up by
just four thousand barrels per day from August and were at a record high
for the month of September. On a year-to-date basis, distillate fuel
deliveries were up 4.3 percent, driven by ultra-low sulfur distillate
(ULSD) fuel demand. ULSD deliveries were up by 10.5 percent in
September, up 9.0 percent on a year-to-date basis and up by 11.0 percent
in the third quarter of 2011 compared with the same periods in 2010.
ULSD deliveries were at a record high in September.

Total domestic deliveries were up by 2.5 percent to reach 19.9
million barrels per day. According to the latest report from the
Institute of Supply Management, the Purchasing Manufacturers’ Index
(PMI) registered 51.2 percent in September, indicating a return to
growth after contracting in August. The economic activity in the
manufacturing sector expanded in September for the 26th consecutive
month according to the ISM report. Exports of petroleum products jumped
19.0 percent from last September to reach 2.8 million barrels per day.

PETROLEUM SUPPLY

Crude oil production continued to show weakness in September this
year compared with the prior year. At 5.3 million barrels per day,
production was higher than August but down from September 2010 by 5.4
percent and down by 1.7 percent in the third quarter of this year. On a
year-to-date basis, production was up by 1.2 percent. Production in the
Lower 48 states was down by 6.2 percent to 4.7 million barrels per day.
Alaskan production jumped higher from the summer lows to reach 622
thousand barrels per day. Production at Alaska’s North Slope oil fields
continued to ramp up by 13.3 percent from August to average 608 thousand
barrels per day. Cook Inlet production, in September, reached its
highest volume since October 2008.

Crude production in North Dakota jumped higher in September to
reach 370 thousand barrels per day, produced by the State’s 5,951 wells.
North Dakota moved up from the ninth biggest producer in 2006 to fourth
in 2010. Natural gas liquids production continued to ramp up through the
year and reached 2.2 million barrels per day, a 4.4 percent jump from
last year. NGL production in the third quarter of this year was higher
than last year by 6.6 percent. In September, the total number of oil and
gas rigs jumped by 21 to 1978, a three-year high, according to
Baker-Hughes Inc. report.

Total imports of petroleum products were down from last year by 9.9
percent in September, at 10.7 million barrels per day. Crude imports
fell by 2.3 percent to 9.0 million barrels per day and product imports
fell by 37.0 percent to 1.6 million barrels per day, compared with last
year. Canadian imports of crude oil, a reliable source for the U.S.
petroleum supply mix, showed a 9.9 percent jump from last year to
average 2.1 million barrels per day in September. On a year-to-date
basis, total imports were down 6.6 percent. Third quarter imports of
crude oil and refined products were down 10 percent compared with the
same period in 2010. For the third quarter, crude oil imports were down
3.5 percent to 5.4 million barrels per day and refined product imports
were down 32.6 percent.

Refinery inputs remained over 15 million barrels per day for the
fourth month in a row, although slipping from August levels by over 400
thousand barrels per day partly due to the effects of Tropical Storm Lee
that impacted Gulf Coast refineries in the first week of September. At
15.0 million barrels per day, inputs were 1.4 percent lower than last
year. Gasoline production, at 9.4 million barrels per day, was up by 3.0
percent in September compared with last year and at a record high on a
year-to-date basis. Distillate fuel production, at 4.4 million barrels
per day, was up by 2.0 percent in September and up by 6.6 percent on a
year-to-date basis. September production volumes of both motor gasoline
and distillate fuel are at a record high for the month. Jet fuel
production moved higher by 9.6 percent while residual fuel production
fell by 9.9 percent in September.

For the fourth time this year, crude oil stocks showed year over
year declines as crude imports and inputs declined compared with the
prior year. Stocks of crude oil (excluding SPR) fell by 1.7 percent from
the prior month and 5.3 percent from the prior year. With the exception
of September 2010, crude oil stocks were at their highest levels for any
September since 1983. Total stocks of oil and products were down 3.9
percent from last year and up 1.9 percent from August 2011 levels. Motor
gasoline stocks fell on a yearly basis to 212.3 million barrels but were
higher than August 2011 levels. This stock level was at a three-year low
for the month of September.

Distillate fuel stocks showed both month-to-month and year-to-year
declines, falling to 154.6 million barrels in September and at a
three-year low for the month of September. Inventories of residual fuel,
jet fuel and unfinished oils were down from the prior year. With the
exception of jet fuel stocks, residual fuel and unfinished oils showed
month-to-month declines as well. On a quarterly basis, stocks of crude
oil and refined products showed declines from 2010. Crude oil stocks
were down 5.3 percent in third quarter of 2010 to 343.7 million barrels.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

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