The debut of the EIA’s more frequent and more detailed storage information will make it possible to calculate approximate storage capacity utilization rates at refineries and oil products terminals, EIA Administrator Richard Newell told participants of a Credit Suisse Commodities Research conference call.
As outlined by OPIS in early August, the new data collection should improve market transparency and help the federal statistical agency more effectively analyze oil market activity and price movements. Furthermore, as regulatory requirements change, there is a need to monitor whether or not capacity to store crude oil and products is being temporarily or permanently idled.
Historically, the EIA had gathered storage capacity information only once a year from refineries. Now, the EIA is collecting data from terminals and pipelines as well as refineries twice a year. The semi-annual collection is “particularly important given opportunities to shift storage capacity across products to meet seasonal needs that vary across products,” Newell said in his presentation.
In addition to standard PADD-level reporting, the new data will break out storage capacity at Cushing, Okla., the country’s largest petroleum hub and the delivery point for the NYMEX light, sweet crude oil futures contract.
The storage numbers will be for capacity in operation (excluding idle capacity) and net available shell storage capacity. In addition, details of capacity leased to others and capacity for exclusive use by the facility operator will indicate who controls the storage capacity.
Storage capacity used by crude oil and products pipelines will be reported as working and breakout storage. However, that will exclude line fill capacity of pipes and capacity for storing crude oil at production sites, and at natural gas processing plants, isomerization plants and fractionators.
The EIA also plans to update crude oil and pipeline product surveys to require semi-annual reporting of inventory levels on the same basis as storage capacity, Newell said. This will enable data users to calculate storage capacity utilization rates for crude oil and petroleum products pipeline operators starting in spring 2011.