Final Draft C.1 U.S. and Global Refining Capacity EnSys Energy & Systems, Inc. As of Jan. 1, 1995, the U.S. had 175 oil refineries of which 165 were operating with total operating capacity of just over 15 million barrels per calendar day. These refineries are operated by some 90 different companies. Of these, 19 companies control nearly 75% of total operable U.S. capacity. Some 56 companies, however, operate refining capacity of less than a 100 thousand barrels a day, the commonly accepted distinction between a large and small refinery. Otherwise put, a significant number of U.S. refineries are smaller than the size in the industry considered as necessary to take maximum benefit of economies of scale in constructing "world scale" process units. See Table C.1. Regionally, U.S. refining capacity is dominated by the Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coast region (PADDIII). This region contains 65 out of 179 operable U.S. refineries and 6.8 million out of 15 million bpd capacity (45%). The region is thus a major net "exporter" of petroleum products, moving typically 2.7 million bpd of petroleum products to the North East (PADD I) and 0.9 million bpd to the Mid West (PADD II) together with smaller product volumes overseas. The U.S. North East contains 19 operable refineries with 1.5 million bpd total capacity and the Mid West 35 refineries with 3.3 million bpd capacity. The Rocky Mountain region (PADD IV) comprises 16 small refineries with a total capacity of 0.5 million bpd. Final Draft EnSys Energy & Systems, Inc. The U.S. West Coast operates in a relatively isolated manner from the rest of the U.S. Separated by the Rocky Mountains and long transportation distances, it is really more a part of the Pacific Basin market, whereas the other U.S. regions east of the Rockies function as part of the Atlantic Basin market. The West Coast (PADD V) region comprises 44 operable refineries with a combined capacity of 2.9 million bpd. California refineries, which dominate the region (at 1.9 million bpd), are subject to uniquely stringent environmental regulations governing both their product output and emissions. U.S. Refining capacity peaked in around 1981 at 3 million barrels per calendar year and since then has declined. Overall, U.S. refining capacity has altered little in absolute terms in the 20 years since 1974. As a percentage of the global total, U.S. capacity has declined moderately from 22% in 1974 to 20% in 1994. For Western Europe and for OECD as a whole, this decline has been much more marked, Western Europe's share dropping from 28.4% in 1974 to 19% in 1994 and OECD's from nearly two thirds at 63% in 1974 to just over half, 51%, in 1994. This decline in relative position has been a function of two main factors: first a drop of 5 million barrels per day in Western Europe's refining capacity through rationalization which continues today and, second, through continuing rapid growth in non-OECD regions of the world, especially in the Asia Pacific region, including China; also in the Middle East and to a lesser degree, Africa. Active refining capacity in Japan has remain relatively flat at 5 million barrels per day. Similarly capacity in Australasia has remained static at around 0.6 million barrels per day. Table C2 and Fig. C1 provide details. Final Draft EnSys Energy & Systems, Inc. C. 2. Trade Movements Table C.3 highlights how the OECD nations remain today the primary importers of petroleum. The U.S., Western Europe and Japan between them account for nearly 70% of total world petroleum imports. In contrast, the U.S. accounts for only 2.6% of world petroleum exports. |