A new study, commissioned by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), finds that changes in North American energy markets over the past decade have strengthened the supply of transportation fuels including motor gasoline, distillates, and jet fuel in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions.
The development of Canadian oil sands crude and the emergence of light, tight crude oil in the United States have provided refiners in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions with access to abundant, cost-advantaged crude supply. Combined with moderating demands for transportation fuels, this availability has enabled suppliers in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions to reduce their dependence on inbound transportation fuels from the Gulf Coast.
Refinery capacity and production of transportation fuels in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions grew significantly between 2005 and 2015. Meanwhile, demand for transportation fuels has been stagnant in the Midwest (but has grown in the Rocky Mountain Region), while increasing volumes of renewable fuels—ethanol and biodiesel—have been added to the supply mix.
As a result, in-region refinery production of transportation fuels used (net of ethanol and biodiesel inputs) in 2015 grew to 84 percent in the Midwest and 101 percent in the Rocky Mountain region, up from 69 percent and 97 percent, respectively, in 2005.
A more complete look at the report can be found here.
