NYMEX futures moved sharply higher Wednesday following a large US crude draw and Philadelphia Energy Solutions announcing the closure of its fire-damaged 355,000 b/d Philadelphia refinery.
NYMEX August WTI settled up $1.55 at $59.38/b, the highest the front month settled since May 22, while ICE August Brent was $1.44 stronger at $66.49/b at market close.
A surge in export activity to a fresh all-time high last week drove US crude inventories to a seven-week low, US Energy Information Administration data showed Wednesday.
US crude exports jumped 348,000 b/d to a record-high 3.77 million b/d during the week ended June 21, EIA data showed. Outflows were 163,000 b/d stronger than the previous record-high 3.61 million b/d reached in mid-February.
The surge in crude exports contributed to a 12.79 million-barrel draw in commercial crude stocks, taking inventories 469.58 million barrels. While the draw put a considerable dent in a budding crude supply overhang, US crude inventories remain ample at 6.3% above the five-year average.
Refined product exports were also considerably stronger last week at 5.61 million b/d, up around 200,000 b/d from the week prior and the highest since mid-December.
Combined, the surge in export activity positioned the US as a net exporter of petroleum products with exports outpacing imports by an aggregate 676,000 b/d. While the US has been a net petroleum exporter on a weekly basis twice previously, in February 2019 and November 2018, last week marked the largest spread between inflows and outflows in US history.
NYMEX July RBOB settled up 9.32 cents at $1.9704/gal and July ULSD was 4.79 cents higher at $1.9713/gal at market close.
Steep gains in prompt RBOB pricing narrowed the discount to ULSD to just 9 points Wednesday, the narrowest front month spread since late April when RBOB was at a premium to ULSD.
RBOB futures moved sharply higher early on Wednesday following media reports that Philadelphia Energy Solutions would shut its Philadelphia refinery in the wake of a fire on June 21. The company confirmed the shutdown in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
"Today, Philadelphia Energy Solutions made the difficult decision to commence shutdown of the refining complex," CEO Mark Smith said in a statement.
"While our teams include some of the most talented people in the industry, the recent fire at the refinery complex has made it impossible for us to continue operations," he said, adding, "we are committed to an orderly process to safely wind down our operations. As part of the wind-down, the company will position the refinery complex for a sale and restart."
The closure is likely to further strain gasoline supply in the densely populated US Atlantic Coast, which is traditionally short gasoline and supplied by European refiners.
Before the explosion, the facility produced 153,980 b/d of gasoline, 75,110 b/d of diesel/gasoil, 24,690 b/d of kero/jet and 24,700 b/d of heavy fuel oil, S&P Global Platts Analytics data showed.
USAC gasoline inventories fell 1.26 million barrels to 60.88 million barrels, US Energy Information Administration data showed Wednesday.
The draw put stocks 7.6% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Nationwide gasoline inventories fell roughly 1 million barrels last week to 232.23 million barrels, while total distillate stocks were down 2.44 million barrels on the week at 125.38 million barrels, EIA data showed.
