US refinery utilization averaged more than 95 percent of capacity between May and September, the highest for those months since 1998 and above the 92 percent May to September average since 1991, the Energy Information Administration said. The agency attributed the runs to tight global supplies of distillate fuel oil, which raised petroleum product margins and international demand for US distillate exports. Total refinery output was only the highest since 2019, because US refining capacity has fallen 4 percent since then, and utilization eased in the first three weeks of October while staying above the five year seasonal average.
US refinery runs were highest since 1998 this summer
US refinery utilization averaged more than 95 percent of capacity from May to September, the highest for those months since 1998, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday.
Why it matters: Refineries ran at that pace because tight global distillate supplies raised product margins and export demand, the same tightness that has kept diesel prices high and made incoming Russian diesel cargoes a market question.
Data as of U.S. Energy Information Administration, Today in Energy, October 22, 2026, read in full; all figures are the agency's own. Developing item.
Sources
- U.S. refineries have been running at very high rates in 2026 - U.S. Energy Information Administration - 2026-10-22