Total US petroleum demand shrank to its lowest levels since 2003 due to the combined effects of higher prices early in the year and a weakening economy as the year progressed, according to information from the American Petroleum Institute (API).
"All told, the magnitude of the drop in U.S. petroleum demand, which totaled more than 1.2 million barrels per day, was enough to offset the continued demand gains in developing countries around the world," said Ron Planting, API statistics manager .
The data comes from API’s Monthly Statistical Report, which reflects figures from December as well as full-year 2008.
Despite the sharp drop in domestic product demand, refineries still set some records in 2008. Distillate output reached an all-time high of 4.3 million barrels per day, up 4.1 percent over 2007, with ultra-low sulfur diesel output surging more than 10 percent from the prior year to 3.1 million barrels per day.
For the year, US petroleum deliveries, a measure for demand, fell six percent--the most rapid rate decline since 1980--to 19.4 million barrels per day, with declines observed for all major products.
Gasoline deliveries dropped 3.3 percent to their lowest levels in five years. Deliveries of distillate fuel oil, which includes diesel fuel, fell 5.8 percent, while jet fuel deliveries slid 6.1 percent. Residual fuel oil deliveries dropped more than 14 percent.
United States crude oil production in 2008 sank below five million barrels per day for the first time since 1946 as a result of lower Alaskan production and hurricane shut-ins in the Gulf of Mexico.
Alaska output fell 1.1 percent for the year to 714,000 barrels per day, the lowest since the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline came on line in 1977.
In the Gulf of Mexico, an estimated 63 million barrels of crude oil were forced off line following hurricanes Gustav and Ike, leading to a 0.6 percent drop in annual crude oil production from the lower 48. Had those barrels not been shut in, lower 48 production would have risen by about two percent over the prior year’s level.
Import volumes also reflected weakening petroleum demand in 2008, as the combined volume of crude oil and product imports dropped to the lowest level in five years at 12.9 million barrels per day. Crude oil imports fell 2.2 percent to under 10 million barrels per day, while product imports shrank 10.6 percent, to under 3.1 million barrels per day.