Colombia's Oil Production at Highest Level since 1999

EIA, Today in Energy, Jul 14, 2011

                                  [Bar Сhart: Colombia's Oil Production*]

*Total oil supply, which includes the production of crude oil (including lease condensates), natural gas plant liquids, and other liquids, and refinery processing gain. -- D.R. 
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook. Download CSV Data

Colombia's oil production set a new record in May 2011, reaching an average output of 927 thousand barrels per day (bbl/d) [Colombia achieved a record-high crude oil output of 927,000 bbl/d in May 2011, up from 903,000 bbl/d in April 2011, Colombia's Energy and Mines Minister, Carlos Rodado Noriega, said. Crude oil production in Colombia in May 2011 reached 923,000 bbl/d compared with 902,000 bbl/d in April 2011 and 776,000 bbl/d in the year-ago month, i.e. May 2010, according to preliminary statistics from the Colombian hydrocarbons regulator ANH. -- D.R.]. Average annual production increased by more than 30% [sic] between 2005 and 2010. EIA expects Colombia's production to continue growing in the near future. The June 2011 Short-Term Energy Outlook projects average annual production to increase from 800 thousand bbl/d in 2010 to 910 thousand bbl/d in 2011 and 980 thousand bbl/d in 2012.

Two factors primarily contributed to Colombia's expanded production:

• Improved Security: Colombia reported only 31 attacks against pipelines in 2010 compared with hundreds of such incidents that occurred per year in the early 2000s.
• Regulatory Changes: Since 1999, the Colombian government has sought to improve the investment climate. Foreign direct investment has improved due to longer exploration licenses, lower royalty rates, and expanded opportunities for private companies to operate oil ventures.

In 2010, Colombia exported 504 thousand bbl/d of its oil production, with 365 thousand bbl/d [of crude oil and petroleum products. Also, please see my post "U.S. Crude Oil Imports from Top 15 Countries, Dec 2010 and Full Year 2010 -- EIA." -- D.R.] going to the United States [The U.S. is the largest destination for Colombia's oil exports. China was Colombia's second-largest oil export destination in 2010, followed by Japan. -- D.R.]. Imports from Colombia helped offset declines in U.S. imports from Mexico and Venezuela. EIA's recently released Country Analysis Brief for Colombia features additional analysis on these trends, along with a broad discussion of Colombia's energy sector. [Full story]

(In 2010, Colombia's crude oil production, including lease condensate, also was at its highest level since 1999. In 2010, it averaged 785,526 barrels per day. Also, please see Aaron and David Rachovich, "Top 6 Oil Producers in Central & South America, 2006-Feb. 2011 -- EIA." -- D.R.)

In Memory of my Dad

My beloved Dad, Aaron-Israel Rachowitz, may He rest in peace, passed away at 8:20 p.m. Monday, July 11, 2011.


Please see a Memorial Website in honor of my Dad

United States: Top 8 Crude Oil Producing States, 2006-Feb.2011

by Aaron and David Rachovich

Production of Crude Oil (Thousand Barrels Per Day), 2006-Feb.2011  

Rank	State	Feb 2011	Jan 2011	Full Year 2010	Full Year 2009	Full Year 2008	Full Year 2007	Full Year 2006
1.	Texas	1,224	1,250	1,141	1,106	1,087	1,087	1,088
2.	Alaska	611	464	599	645	683	722	741
3.	California	555	550	558	567	586	594	612
4.	North Dakota	360	341	307	218	172	123	109
5.	Oklahoma	188	197	186	184	175	167	172
6.	Louisiana	187	185	182	189	199	210	202
7.	New Mexico	178	185	171	168	162	161	164
8.	Wyoming	143	146	142	141	145	148	145
Top 8 States		3,446	3,318	3,286	3,218	3,209	3,212	3,233
U.S. Total		5,612	5,483	5,512	5,361	4,950	5,064	5,102

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), June 29, 2011, here and here.

(In 2010, almost 60% of U.S. crude oil production came from eight States: Texas - 20.7%; Alaska - 10.9%; California - 10.1%; North Dakota - 5.6%; Oklahoma - 3.4%; Louisiana - 3.3%; New Mexico - 3.1%; and Wyoming - 2.6%. About 30% of U.S. crude oil was produced from wells located offshore in federally administered waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Update: please see my post "Five States Accounted for about 56% of Total U.S. Crude Oil Production in 2011." Update 2: North Dakota passed Alaska in March 2012 to become the second-leading state in crude oil production, trailing only Texas---please see my post "North Dakota Tops Alaska in Oil Production, Trailing Only Texas." Also, please see our post "U.S. Crude Oil Production, 1970-2010." -- D.R.)

Happy Birthday America

Happy 4th of July to all my American readers! And God bless the United States of America.

Top 28 Largest Refineries in the U.S. as of Jan 1, 2011 -- EIA

by Aaron and David Rachovich

U.S. Refineries* Operable Capacity 

Rank  Jan 1, 2011	Corporation	Company	State	Site	Barrels per Calendar Day (b/cd)
1.	Exxon Mobil	ExxonMobil Refining & Supply	Texas	Baytown	560,640
2.	Exxon Mobil	ExxonMobil Refining & Supply	Louisiana	Baton Rouge	502,000
3.	Hovensa LLC (50% Hess, 50% PDVSA)	Hovensa LLC	Virgin Islands (territory of the U.S.)	Kingshill	500,000
4.	Marathon Oil	Marathon Petroleum	Louisiana	Garyville	464,000
5.	PDV America Inc	Citgo Petroleum	Louisiana	Lake Charles	427,800
6.	BP PLC	BP Products North America	Texas	Texas City	406,570
7.	BP PLC	BP Products North America	Indiana	Whiting	405,000
8.	WRB Refining LLC (50% ConocoPhillips, 50% Cenovus)	WRB Refining	Illinois	Wood River	362,000
9.	Exxon Mobil	ExxonMobil Refining & Supply	Texas	Beaumont	344,500
10.	Sunoco Inc	Sunoco Inc (R&M)	Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	335,000
11.	Chevron	Chevron USA Inc	Mississippi	Pascagoula	330,000
12.	Deer Park Refining LTD Ptnrshp (50% Royal Dutch/Shell, 50% Pemex)	Deer Park Refining	Texas	Deer Park	327,000
13.	Valero Energy	Premcor Refining Group	Texas	Port Arthur	292,000
14.	Koch Industries	Flint Hills Resources	Texas	Corpus Christi	290,078
15.	Motiva Enterprises LLC (50% Royal Dutch/Shell, 50% Saudi Aramco)	Motiva Enterprises LLC	Texas	Port Arthur	285,000
16.	Access Industries	Houston Refining LP	Texas	Houston	280,390
17.	Chevron	Chevron USA Inc	California	El Segundo	273,000
18.	Koch Industries	Flint Hills Resources	Minnesota	Saint Paul	262,000
19.	BP PLC	BP West Coast Products	California	Los Angeles	253,000
20.	ConocoPhillips	ConocoPhillips Co	Louisiana	Belle Chasse	247,000
21.	ConocoPhillips	ConocoPhillips Co	Texas	Sweeny	247,000
22.	Chevron	Chevron USA Inc	California	Richmond	245,271
23.	ConocoPhillips	ConocoPhillips Co	Louisiana	Westlake	239,400
24.	Exxon Mobil	ExxonMobil Refining & Supply	Illinois	Joliet	238,600
25.	ConocoPhillips	ConocoPhillips Co	New Jersey	Linden	238,000
26.	Motiva Enterprises LLC (50% Royal Dutch/Shell, 50% Saudi Aramco)	Motiva Enterprises LLC	Louisiana	Convent	235,000
27.	Motiva Enterprises LLC (50% Royal Dutch/Shell, 50% Saudi Aramco)	Motiva Enterprises LLC	Louisiana	Norco	233,500
28.	Total SA	Total Petrochemicals Inc	Texas	Port Arthur	232,000

*Only refineries with atmospheric crude oil distillation capacity.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration/EIA, Ranking of U.S. Refineries, Updated/Reviewed June 2011.

(ExxonMobil's Baytown Refinery is the largest oil refinery in the United States. Also, the Baytown area which is home to several of ExxonMobil's integrated sites---including the Baytown Refinery, Baytown Chemical Plant, Baytown Olefins Plant, Mont Belvieu Plastics Plant, Americas Area Engineering Office and Baytown Technology & Engineering Complex---is the largest petroleum & petrochemical complex in the United States. Texas is home to 26 refineries, with a total capacity of 4.72 million barrels per day. Louisiana is home to 19 refineries, with a total capacity of 3.22 million barrels per day. And California is home to 20 refineries, with a total capacity of 1.96 million barrels per day. Nearly half---49%---of U.S. refinery distillation capacity is located in the Gulf Coast region, i.e., PAD district 3 comprising Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. January 2011 U.S. refining capacity of 17.7 million barrels per day, excluding the Virgin Islands, reached the highest level recorded since 1982---please see EIA, Today in Energy, Jun 29, 2011, here. Also, please see "Top 20 Largest Refining Companies/Refiners in the U.S. as of Jan 1, 2011;" "World's Top 25 Largest Refining Companies, Jan 1, 2011 -- OGJ;" "Top 10 Largest Refining Companies in Asia, the USA and Western Europe -- OGJ;" and "World's Top 21 Largest Oil Refineries -- OGJ." Update 1:  Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Saudi Aramco became co-owners of the largest U.S. refinery on Thursday when a new crude distillation unit at their joint-venture Motiva Enterprises Port Arthur, Texas, plant [ranked 15th as of Jan 1, 2011, above -- D.R.] received oil for the first time, said Shell's Chief Financial Officer. The 325,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) atmospheric crude distillation unit that started processing on Thursday combines with existing crude units to give Motiva's Port Arthur, Texas, refinery a total crude oil refining capacity of 600,000 bpd, said Shell Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry during the company's first quarter earnings call. […] With the startup of the new Port Arthur crude unit, Exxon Mobil Corp's 560,640 bpd Baytown, Texas, refinery becomes the nation's second-largest refinery---please see "Motiva Port Arthur refinery becomes U.S. largest - Shell," Reuters, Apr 26, 2012. Update 2: But by far the biggest refining story in North America in 2012 centered on the massive expansion at Motiva Enterprise LLC's Port Arthur, Tex., refinery. The 325,000 bpd, $10 billion expansion, largest at a US refinery in nearly 40 years and designed for feedstock flexibility, was dedicated on May 31, raising capacity to 600,000 bpd and making it the largest US refinery. On June 9, 2012, however, the new crude distillation unit sprung leaks traced to massive corrosion; a fire ensued and the expansion was shut down. Motiva has since traced the problem to faulty design. The unit will not restart before the end of first-quarter 2013, if then---please see Warren R. True and Leena Koottungal, "Asia, Middle East lead modest recovery in global refining," OGJ, Dec 3, 2012 -- D.R.)