America’s Diesel Stockpiles Are Rapidly Dwindling, Fuel Rationing On The Horizon

[pipedreams]

• American diesel stockpiles have been depleted while prices have surged to record highs, leading to higher prices for consumers.
• “I wouldn’t be surprised to see diesel being rationed on the East Coast this summer,” John Catsimatidis, the CEO of United Refining Co., told Bloomberg on Wednesday. “Right now inventories are low and we may see a shortage in coming months.”
• “What we’ve seen this year has been the capabilities to turn oil into diesel and gasoline and jet fuel have diminished,” Jacques Rousseau, a managing director at Clearview Energy Partners, told The Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview.

https://dailycaller.com/2022/05/12/united-states-diesel-fuel-inventories-prices/

"Seven refineries, which processed a total of about 806,000 barrels of oil per day, have shut down over the last three years, leaving the U.S. with 124 operating refineries, down more than 10% since 2016, according to the EIA. Total U.S. operating refinery capacity fell 4.5% between 2020-2021 to 17.7 million barrels per day, its lowest level since 2013.

Meanwhile, bans on Russian fuels in the U.S. and Europe amid the Ukraine crisis has put even more pressure on the American energy industry which has sought to fill the gaps in the global supply chain. Although the U.S. is a net exporter of distillate fuel oil, it imported 77,000 barrels of the product from Russia in February."

[GT4494]

Gee, I bet shutting down (and not building new) refineries have nothing to do with the unelected EPA.  Just like power plants the refineries are subject to regulations that price them out of the market. All so we can have the cleanest air, if we could put a wall to space so we don't get the air from China and India to name a couple. 

The US cutting pollution does not make a lot of sense if the rest of the world doesn't care.