US crude oil inventories up 0.7% for week ending Dec. 15

US commercial crude oil inventories rose by 0.7% during the week ending Dec. 15, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.

Inventories increased by around 2.9 million barrels to 443.7 million barrels, compared to the American Petroleum Institute’s expectation of a rise of around 939,000 barrels.

Strategic petroleum reserves, which are excluded from commercial crude stocks, increased by 600,000 barrels to 352.5 million barrels last week, the data revealed.

Gasoline inventories rose by around 2.7 million barrels to 226.7 million barrels over the same period.

– Crude production rises

EIA data showed that US crude oil production increased by 196,000 barrels per day (bpd) to around 13.73 million bpd during the week ending Dec. 15.

US crude oil imports, rose by 233,000 bpd to about 6.75 million bpd over the same period, while crude oil exports climbed by 350,000 bpd to approximately 4.12 million bpd.

In the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) released on Dec. 12, the EIA predicted that crude oil output in the country would reach an average of 12.90 million bpd this year.

Next year, crude oil output in the country is expected to reach 13.11 million bpd.

• Energy Information Administration (EIA)