Pipeline Flip Turns U.S. Oil World 'Upside Down'

NPR ^ | 18 May 2012 | Jeff Brady

[thackney]

I wonder what triggered the odd chart I posted.

That chart is from this data set:

U.S. Total Gasoline Retail Sales by Refiners
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=A103600001&f=M

What has happened is the way the sales market is sent to retail has changed. It used to be a higher percentage of the sale to the local retailer was direct from the refinery.

Now much more of the gasoline is sent first to a blender, then the blender sells the finished product to the local retailer.

I think two items have created this trend. The blending of ethanol and the addition of more special gasoline requirements in different areas.

The ethanol does not ship well through pipelines used for gasoline due to it being miscible with water. As a consequence, ethanol tends to be added downstream of the refinery at a local blender. More refineries now produce more gasoline blending products in place of finished motor gasoline.

You can see the drop started ~2004 and became more significant with the new ethanol requirement by 2007.

[thackney]

I should have included this link:

U.S. Total Gasoline All Sales
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=C100000001&f=M

When we look at ALL SALES and not just “Retail Sales by Refiners”, you see a much different curve and a much greater volume.