Europe Refiners Benefit from U.S. Emergency Oil Stock Releases

By Arathy Somasekhar and Stephanie Kelly

HOUSTON – In April, at least three vessels transporting oil from U.S. emergency stockpiles headed to Europe as refiners there worked to replace Russian crude oil supplies, according to U.S. Customs data, ship tracking information, and industry sources.

The releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine aimed to alleviate supply shortages and mitigate soaring fuel prices. A significant release last fall primarily sought to reduce the rising costs of gasoline for U.S. consumers.

Last month, the Biden administration augmented previous smaller releases with an additional 180 million barrels from storage facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast. The U.S. does not restrict the export of SPR oil, and some analysts anticipate an increase in these exports.

Despite the releases, U.S. retail gasoline and diesel prices have remained elevated, averaging $4.40 and $5.55 per gallon, respectively—close to record highs. Strong fuel demand is driving up U.S. refiners’ projected earnings this quarter, expected to be four times greater than the first quarter’s profits.

In April, Phillips 66 loaded approximately 600,000 barrels of crude oil from the Bryan Mound cavern in Texas onto the tanker Sea Holly, which is bound for Trieste, Italy. This location features a pipeline that transports oil to refineries in central Europe.

Atlantic Trading & Marketing (ATMI), a division of French oil company TotalEnergies, also shipped just over 1 million barrels of SPR crude to Rotterdam last month.

In total, about 2.25 million barrels from the SPR were exported to Italy and the Netherlands across three vessels in April, as reported by Matt Smith, lead oil analyst for the Americas at a data provider.

ATMI has secured at least 3.5 million barrels from the SPR, while Phillips 66 has obtained at least 10 million barrels, based on government disclosures. Other companies receiving SPR oil include Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Marathon Petroleum, and Valero Energy.

Phillips 66 declined to comment on its trading activities, and ATMI did not immediately provide a response.

With ongoing SPR releases expected in the coming months, analysts anticipate further exports, according to Kpler’s Smith.