据海湾商业新闻网2019年5月25日休斯顿报道，正当美国主要炼油商为夏季驾驶季节提高汽油产量的时候，全球重质原油供应的严重短缺将给美国的主要炼油造成增产的障碍。

在墨西哥湾沿岸，不断减少的重质原油供应量抑制了炼油厂的炼油利润率，而美国中西部的炼油商可能无法达到去年夏季的高水平。根据石油分析有限公司公布的统计数据，墨西哥湾沿岸的焦化利润已经跌至近10年来的最低水平。焦化是一种把重质原油分解成汽油和柴油等燃料的过程。

焦化利润下跌之际，受到制裁打击国家的原油供应大幅减少，加上加拿大和欧佩克减产，推高了通过焦化过程生产汽油的燃料油价格。墨西哥湾沿岸燃料油是重质原油的副产品，4月底燃料油价格达到了6个月高点。

美国墨西哥湾地区夏季汽油价格也低于5年平均水平。不过，利润减少并不一定意味着产量减少。研究炼油经济的石油分析有限公司主管简?雅各布?弗斯库尔说：“尽管炼油利润率疲软，但我们预计美国炼油企业不会有任何减产。”

ESAI能源公司精炼生物燃料分析主管克里斯·巴伯在电话中表示，美国炼油企业6月至8月的日产量预计将在930万桶左右，与去年的利用率类似。

而在中西部，情况则完全不同。该地区的炼油厂依赖于加拿大西部的Select原油，这是一种重质原油，在艾伯塔省政府放松了一些生产限制后，这种原油最近变得更加便宜。廉价的重质原油供应推高了该地区炼油商的焦化利润率，但供应依然紧张，因为艾伯塔省要到今年年底才会解除对重质原油产量的强制性限制。

巴伯称，重质原油供应紧张很有可能把美国中西部炼油厂6 - 8月原油日加工量从去年同期的395万桶减少到385万桶左右。

李峻 编译自 海湾商业新闻

原文如下：

US refiners face summertime hurdles amid heavy oil shortage

Houston. A global shortage of heavy crude will create hurdles for America’s key refining belts just as they ramp up gasoline production for summer driving season.

In the Gulf Coast, dwindling heavy oil supplies have suppressed refining margins, while Midwest refiners may not reach the high run rates seen last summer. Gulf Coast profits from coking — a process where heavy crude is broken down into fuels such as gasoline and diesel — are already at their lowest levels in nearly a decade, according to data from Oil Analytics Ltd.

The decline comes as a loss of crude supply from sanctions-hit country, as well as production cuts by Canada and Opec, have driven up the price of fuel oil, which is used to make gasoline through the coking process. Gulf Coast fuel oil, a by-product of heavy crude, reached a six-month high in late April.

Gulf gasoline prices in the run-up to summer are also below the five-year average. Still, slimmer profits won’t necessarily mean less production. Margins are weak, but ‘we don’t expect any run cuts,’ said Jan-Jacob Verschoor, director of Oil Analytics Ltd., which studies refinery economics.

For June through August, runs are expected to be around 9.3 million barrels a day, similar to utilisation to last year, Chris Barber, head of refining biofuels analysis for ESAI Energy, said by phone.

In the Midwest, it’s a different story. Refineries in the region rely on Western Canadian Select, a heavy crude that’s recently gotten cheaper after Alberta’s government eased some production limits. The inexpensive oil supply has driven up coking margins for area refiners — but supply remains tight as Alberta won’t lift its mandatory output curbs until the end of the year.

The supply crunch will likely push Midwest refinery runs to about 3.85 million barrels a day during June-August, lower than 3.95 million last year, Barber said.