MARKETWIRE ALERTS

MARKETWIRE ALERTS 

MarketWire Afternoon News for October 22^st

Updated at 5:00 PM ET 

HEADLINES:

— U.S. Authorizes CP2 LNG Project to Export to non-FTA countries

— EIA: PADD 2 Gasoline Stocks Slip 700K Bbl W-o-W

— EIA: PADD 3 Gasoline Stocks Slip to 79M Bbl W-o-W

— EIA: Propane/Propylene Stockpiles Increase 1.6% Annually

— EIA: PADD 5 Gasoline Stocks Climb to 29.5M Bbl

— DOE Seeks 1M Bbl of Crude Oil for SPR

–EIA: U.S. Crude Down 1M Bbl; Gasoline, Distillates Fall

–U.S. Ethanol Output Rises Y-o-Y, Stocks Fall

— Chevron’s El Segundo Refinery Reports New Flaring

NEWS:

U.S. Authorizes CP2 LNG Project to Export to non-FTA countries

The U.S. Department of Energy has authorized Venture Global CP2 LNG Project in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, to export up to 3.96 Bcfd of liquified natural gas to non-Free Trade Agreement countries.

“Finalizing the non-FTA authorization for CP2 LNG will enable secure and reliable American energy access for our allies and trading partners, while also providing well-paid jobs and economic opportunities at home,” said Kyle Haustveit, Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fossil Energy on Wednesday (10/22).
The final approval follows the DOE’s conditional authorization granted in March 2025 and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s May 2025 decision to permit construction and operation of the facility. It also reflects DOE’s reaffirmation that expanding LNG exports enhances energy security for U.S. allies, the agency stated.
So far this year, the Trump administration has authorized more than 13.8 Bcfd of new LNG exports, bringing the total to 15 Bcfd, a 25% increase over the previous year.

EIA: PADD 1 Gasoline Stock Off 1.2Mb W-o-W, Distillate Dip

East Coast PADD 1 crude oil, gasoline, and jet fuel inventories declined during the week ending October 17 while distillate stocks also fell, U.S. Energy Information Administration data released Wednesday (10/22) showed.

PADD 1 gasoline stocks fell by 1.2 million bbl to 55.3 million bbl in the profiled week and were 1.3 million bbl below the level recorded in the same week last year. Gasoline imports decreased to 289,000 bpd from 383,000 bpd the prior week and were also below the 391,000 bpd reported in the corresponding week last year.

PADD 1 distillate inventories declined by 900,000 bbl to 26.8 million bbl in the reference week, and were 5.6 million bbl lower than the volume recorded in the same week last year. The region imported 32,000 bpd of distillates, down from 111,000 bpd the prior week and from 70,000 bpd in the same week last year.

East Coast jet fuel inventories fell by 1.3 million bbl to 8.4 million bbl in the respective week. That was 2.9 million bbl below the volume reported in the corresponding week last year. Regional jet fuel imports stood at 14,000 bpd, in the first data of its kind published since the week ended September 5.

Crude oil inventories in PADD 1 fell by 500,000 bbl to 7.6 million bbl in the week ending October 17, compared with 8.1 million bbl reported for the year-ago period.

EIA: PADD 2 Gasoline Stocks Slip 700K Bbl W-o-W

Midwest PADD 2 crude oil, gasoline, distillate and jet fuel inventories declined during the week ending October 17, U.S. Energy Information Administration data released Wednesday (10/22) showed.

PADD 2 gasoline stocks fell by 700,000 bbl to 45.8 million bbl in the profiled week, 300,000 bbl higher than the level recorded in the same week a year earlier. Gasoline imports decreased to 18,000 bpd from 14,000 bpd the prior week, though above the 4,000 bpd reported in the corresponding week last year.

PADD 2 distillate inventories declined by 1.1 million bbl to 27.3 million bbl in the reference week, a slight decrease from the 27.6 million bbl recorded in the same week of the previous year. The region imported 20,000 bpd of distillates, up from 14,000 bpd the prior week and 4,000 bpd in the same week a year earlier.

Midwest jet fuel inventories edged up by 100,000 bbl to 7.6 million bbl in the respective week. That was 1.2 million bbl higher than the volume reported in the corresponding week a year earlier. The region continued to report zero imports on both a weekly and year-over-year basis.

Crude oil inventories in PADD 2 fell by 400,000 bbl to 101.6 million bbl in the week ending October 17, compared with 104.3 million bbl reported during the same week of the prior year.

EIA: PADD 3 Gasoline Stocks Slip to 79M Bbl W-o-W

Gulf Coast PADD 3 gasoline inventories eased in the week ending October 17, while distillate stocks increased and crude oil and jet fuel inventories declined, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data released Wednesday (10/22).
Gasoline inventories fell by 300,000 bbl to 79 million bbl from 79.3 million bbl in the reference week, nearly matching the 79.3 million bbl reported in the same week of last year. Imports in the region were at 14,000 bpd compared with 40,000 bpd from the prior week, and below the 36,000 bpd imported in the year-ago period.
Distillate inventories climbed by 400,000 bbl to 45.1 million bbl from 44.7 million bbl and were 5.1 million bbl above the 40 million bbl recorded in the same week of last year. Imports held steady at zero bpd, unchanged from both the prior week and the same period of 2024.
Crude oil inventories declined by 300,000 bbl to 244.3 million bbl from 244.6 million bbl in the prior week, and matched the 244.3 million bbl reported in the same week of last year. Imports climbed by 88,000 bpd to 1.074 million bpd, but were 229,000 bpd lower than the 1.303 million bpd brought in the same week of 2024.
Jet fuel inventories fell by 400,000 bbl to 14.1 million bbl from 14.5 million bbl and were slightly below the 14.4 million bbl reported in the same period last year. Imports stayed flat at zero bpd, consistent with both the prior week and 2024 levels.

EIA: Propane/Propylene Stockpiles Increase 1.6% Annually

The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday (10/22) total domestic propane/propylene stocks of 103.175 million bbl in the week ending October 17, up 799,000 bbl week-on-week and 1.645 million bbl, or 1.6% higher than in the same week last year.
Data show propane/propylene exports last week averaged 1.892 million bpd, down 242,000 bpd week-on-week and 314,000 bpd, or 16.6%, higher than in the same week last year.
Implied demand for propane/propylene in the United States averaged 914,000 bpd, up 419,000 bpd week-on-week and 396,000 bpd, or 43.3% lower than in the same week last year.
EIA reports domestic propane/propylene production averaged 2.84 million bpd, up 31,000 bpd week-on-week and 86,000 bpd, or 3% higher than the same period last year.
East Coast PADD 1 inventories ended the week at 8.844 million bbl, down 83,000 bbl week-on-week and 1.128 million bbl, or 12.8% higher than in the same week last year.
Midwest PADD 2 inventories ended the week at 27.959 million bbl, up 896,000 bbl week-on-week and 736,000 bbl, or 2.6% lower than in the same week last year.
Gulf Coast PADD 3 inventories ended the week at 60.925 million bbl, up 11,000 bbl week-on-week and 2.053 million bbl, or 3.4% higher than in the same week last year.
Combined inventories in the Rockies and the West Coast, PADD 4 and 5, ended the week at 5.448 million bbl, down 24,000 bbl week-on-week and 798,000 bbl, or 14.6% lower than in the same week last year.

EIA: PADD 5 Gasoline Stocks Climb to 29.5M Bbl

West Coast PADD 5 gasoline inventories edged higher in the week ending October 17, while crude oil stocks fell and distillate levels held steady, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data released Wednesday (10/22).
Gasoline inventories climbed by 200,000 bbl to 29.5 million bbl from 29.3 million bbl in the week ending October 17 and were 3.7 million bbl above the 25.8 million bbl reported in the same week of last year. Imports in the region rose by 89,000 bpd to 184,000 bpd, more than double the 82,000 bpd reported a year earlier.
Distillate inventories held steady at 12.7 million bbl in the reference week, up 2 million bbl compared to the 10.7 million bbl recorded last year. Imports climbed by 7,000 bpd to 33,000 bpd from 26,000 bpd, significantly higher than 7,000 bpd imported in the same period of 2024.
Crude oil inventories fell by 200,000 bbl to 45.8 million bbl from 46 million bbl in the week ending October 17. Stocks were 1.5 million bbl lower than the 47.3 million bbl held in the same week of last year.
Jet fuel inventories climbed by 100,000 bbl to 12 million bbl from 11.9 million bbl in the reference week and were 1.4 million bbl above the 10.6 million bbl reported in the same week last year. Imports dropped sharply by 76,000 bpd to 67,000 bpd from 143,000 bpd, below the 147,000 bpd reported in 2024.

DOE Seeks 1M Bbl of Crude Oil for SPR

The U.S. Department of Energy announced that it would be purchasing approximately 1 million bbl of crude oil for December 2025 and January 2026 delivery to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) site at Bryan Mound.

Bidders for its offer must submit their proposals no later than October 28, the DOE’s Office of Petroleum Reserves stated late Tuesday (10/21).

On November 24, the DOE purchased 2.4 million bbl to be delivered from  April to May to the Bryan Mound site.

Stockpiles in the SPR, which act as an emergency reserve, totaled 408.6 million bbl during the week ended October 17, according to Energy Information Administration most recent data. The highest recorded stockpile by the U.S. was 726.6 million bbl in December 2009.

EIA: U.S. Crude Down 1M Bbl; Gasoline, Distillates Fall

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories fell for the first time in four weeks as of October 17, while gasoline and distillate fuel oil stocks also declined, the Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday (10/22).

Commercial crude stocks decreased by 1 million bbl to 422.8 million bbl, following last week’s 3.5 million bbl build. Inventories now stand about 3.2 million bbl below levels last year.

Stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for NYMEX West Texas Intermediate futures, fell by 800,000 bbl to 21.2 million bbl, marking the fourth consecutive weekly draw.

Distillate fuel oil inventories declined by 1.4 million bbl to 115.6 million bbl, after posting a 4.6 million bbl draw the prior week. Despite the decrease, stocks remain about 1.7 million bbl above the same period last year, with most of the draw occurring in low-sulfur grades.

Total motor gasoline inventories fell by 2.1 million bbl to 216.7 million bbl, following a small decline the prior week. Blending components accounted for most of the decrease, dropping by 2.1 million bbl to 201 million bbl, while conventional gasoline edged up by 100,000 bbl to 15.7 million bbl.

Refinery utilization rose to 88.6% of capacity, up from 85.7% the prior week and just below 89.5% last year. Crude runs averaged 15.730 million bpd, an increase of 601,000 bpd week-on-week.

Crude exports averaged 4.203 million bpd, down from 4.466 million bpd the previous week, while crude imports rose by 393,000 bpd to 5.918 million bpd.

Total products supplied over the last four weeks averaged 20.014 million bpd, nearly flat compared with the same period last year. Gasoline demand averaged 8.454 million bpd, down by 3.6% year-on-year, while distillate demand averaged 3.847 million bpd, up by 0.2% year-on-year.

U.S. Ethanol Output Rises Y-o-Y, Stocks Fall

The Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday (10/22) overall ethanol production in the United States averaged 1.112 million bpd, up 38,000 bpd week-on-week and 30,000 bpd, or 2.9% higher than in the same week last year. Four-week average output at 1.097 million bpd was 36,000 bpd above the same four weeks last year.
Midwest ethanol production averaged 1.051 million bpd, up 27,000 bpd week-on-week and 28,000 bpd, or 2.7% higher than in the same week last year. Four-week average output at 1.038 million bpd was 38,000 bpd above the same four weeks last year.
Ethanol blending activity in the U.S. averaged 911,000 bpd, down 4,000 bpd week-on-week and 11,000 bpd, or 1.2% lower than in the same week last year. Four-week average blendind demand at 913,000 bpd was 2,000 bpd below the same four weeks last year.
Blender inputs at the East Coast were down 2,000 bpd on the week while inputs in the Midwest were down 0,000 bpd, up 1,000 bpd on the Gulf Coast and down 2,000 bpd on the West Coast.
Domestic ethanol inventories ended the week at 21.919 million bbl, down 709,000 bbl week-on-week and 148,000 bbl, or 1.4% lower than in the same week last year.
East Coast PADD 1 inventories ended the week at 6.383 million bbl, down 477,000 bbl week-on-week and 363,000 bbl, or 5.7% lower than in the same week last year.
Midwest PADD 2 inventories ended the week at 8.814 million bbl, down 227,000 bbl week-on-week and 237,000 bbl, or 2.7% higher than in the same week last year.
Gulf Coast PADD 3 inventories ended the week at 3.938 million bbl, up 90,000 bbl week-on-week and 120,000 bbl, or 3% lower than in the same week last year.
West Coast PADD 5 inventories ended the week at 2.416 million bbl, down 94,000 bbl week-on-week and 371,000 bbl, or 15.4% higher than in the same week last year.

Chevron’s El Segundo Refinery Reports New Flaring

Chevron reported on Tuesday (10/21) a flaring event at its 269,000-bpd El Segundo, California refinery that began at 1:00 p.m. PT, according to a filing with the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
The cause of the flare was listed as “initial determination unknown” and “under investigation”, with no estimated stop time available as of Tuesday afternoon.
Chevron has reported multiple flaring incidents at El Segundo this month, including a non-emergency flaring event on October 15 and emergency flaring events on October 9 and October 14. These follow a massive explosion on October 2 affecting the Isomax 7 unit; a hydrocracker critical for producing jet fuel and gasoline.
The El Segundo refinery is a key supplier of transportation fuels for Southern California markets, including Los Angeles and San Diego. It provides about 20% of Southern California’s gasoline and 40% of its jet fuel.