US residual fuel oil demand in 2014 was a record low 257,000 b/d, down by half from 2009 and further evidence the product’s utility is waning, Energy Information Administration data showed Friday. The US EIA published a host of detailed figures for December that also provide a full calendar-year 2014 look at domestic supply and demand trends. It was another down year for fuel oil, which has set the consumption bar lower for nine consecutive years. The 2014 figure was no exception, even with increased demand from the electric sector during a brutal first quarter winter in the Northeast. “That included some big utility buying in January-February-March and October-November,” an East Coast broker said of 2014’s record low. “I’m not sure we see anything like that this year.” With domestic demand all but disappearing, the US has solidified itself as a net export of […]

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