20 June 2017, Sweetcrude, Houston — “Gross inputs to U.S. petroleum refineries, also referred to as refinery runs, averaged a record high 17.7 million barrels per day (b/d) for the week ending May 26, before dropping slightly to 17.5 million b/d for the week ending June 2 and 17.6 million b/d for the week ending June 9.
Product supplied to the U.S. market as well as inventories and exports are also at relatively high levels. Weekly U.S. refinery runs have exceeded 17 million b/d only 24 times since EIA began publishing the data series in 1990, and all of those instances have occurred since July 2015.
Despite record-high inputs, refinery utilization did not reach a new record, because refinery capacity has increased in recent years.
Refinery utilization reached 95% for the week ending May 26, slightly lower than the levels reached in mid-July through mid-August 2015.”—EIA
