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Petroleum industry

Oil Prices Plummet as Distillates Take the Brunt of the Hit

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The crude oil and distillate markets experienced a dismal week, with prices for both sliding significantly. The February light, sweet crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) lost $0.34 to close at $16.63 per barrel, a $0.80 drop from the previous week. This marks a decline of over $2 from the early-December price and a staggering $4 below the early-November level. The February heating oil contract fared even worse, shedding 1.05 cents to end the week at 46.70 cents per gallon, a 3-cent drop from the previous week. Meanwhile, gasoline prices received a slight boost, increasing by 0.19 cents to close at 52.81 cents per gallon.

Key Takeaways:

  • The February light, sweet crude contract on Nymex lost $0.34 to close at $16.63 per barrel, a $0.80 drop from the previous week.
  • The decline represents a decrease of over $2 from the early-December price and a staggering $4 below the early-November level.
  • The February heating oil contract shed 1.05 cents to end the week at 46.70 cents per gallon, a 3-cent drop from the previous week.
  • Gasoline prices received a slight boost, increasing by 0.19 cents to close at 52.81 cents per gallon.
  • Support for gasoline may have come from refinery problems and maintenance plans, including power outages in an ice storm that shut down the Montreal refineries of Shell Canada Ltd. and Petro-Canada.
  • Fluid catalytic crackers (FCCs) were headed for maintenance work soon at Texas refineries of Amoco Corp., Clark Refining & Marketing Inc., and Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corp.
  • Petoleos de Venezuela S.A. was still at work on its idled FCC in Amuay, Venezuela, and Star Enterprise was working on a coker at its Delaware City, Del., refinery.
  • Exxon Corp. was said to be planning a February turnaround for an FCC in Texas.

Statistics:

  • Prices for crude oil and distillates fell significantly, with the February light, sweet crude contract on Nymex losing $0.34 to close at $16.63 per barrel.
  • Gasoline prices increased by 0.19 cents to close at 52.81 cents per gallon.
  • The February heating oil contract shed 1.05 cents to end the week at 46.70 cents per gallon, a 3-cent drop from the previous week.
  • Distillates took the greatest beating in both the paper and physical markets.
  • The decline in crude oil prices represents a decrease of over $2 from the early-December price and a staggering $4 below the early-November level.

Sources:

  • "Prices for crude oil and distillates finished last week farther in the hole, while gasoline found a slight amount of support Friday." (Source: Original article)
  • New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) (Source: Original article)
  • Shell Canada Ltd. (Source: Original article)
  • Petro-Canada (Source: Original article)
  • Amoco Corp. (Source: Original article)
  • Clark Refining & Marketing Inc. (Source: Original article)
  • Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corp. (Source: Original article)
  • Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (Source: Original article)
  • Star Enterprise (Source: Original article)
  • Exxon Corp. (Source: Original article)

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