Midwest, Rocky Mountain regions’ transportation fuel production sees growth

Transportation fuel production and supply has grown significantly in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions between 2005 and 2015 due to changes in the energy market, according to a new study commissioned by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Supply chains and fuel markets in the regions have become increasingly self-sufficient in the past decade, while demand for transportation fuels remained unchanged in the Midwest and grew in the Rocky Mountain region.

The emergence of light, tight crude oil in the United States and the development of Canadian oil sands increased the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions’ crude oil supply. This has created opportunities to optimize crude slates and add refinery capacity and utilization.

Increasingly larger additions of renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, have also contributed. As a result, in-region refinery production of transportation fuels used (net of ethanol and biodiesel inputs) in 2015 grew to 84 percent in the Midwest and 101 percent in the Rocky Mountain region, up from 69 percent and 97 percent, respectively, in 2005.

This report is the third and last in a series of studies on the supply, consumption, and distribution of gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel in the United States. The Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions examined in this study correspond to Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts two and four.