The latest monthly data from the US Energy Information Administration, which showed a significant increase in crude movements from the US Midwest to the Gulf Coast region, were flawed, an EIA statistician said Tuesday.
The EIA, in a report released Monday, showed that total crude shipments from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast more than tripled in September to 164,000 b/d from 48,000 b/d in August, which included movements by pipeline, tanker and barge. Pipeline shipments made up the bulk of the increase, with the EIA showing a 106,000 b/d month-over-month increase in September.
But Michael Conner, team leader for petroleum supply statistics at the EIA, said in a telephone interview that the size and scope of the month-over-month increase in crude movements between those regions were incorrect due to flawed data for the preceding months from companies that report to the EIA.
"The data we received for previous months back to January did not include movements that should have been reported," said Conner of companies that submitted surveys to the EIA. Conner declined to say how many companies may have failed to report their crude movements properly.
Conner said the data on crude movements between the Midwest and Gulf Coast for January 2010 through August 2010 will be corrected in the EIA's annual petroleum supply report, due out in June/July 2011.
Although Conner declined to comment on the details of why movements were not reported by companies, he said that the September figures for crude movements were flagged since they were not consistent with previous months.
"When we see things that don't appear consistent, we go back and ask the company," said Conner.
He said the EIA already had questions relating to crude movement data from the Midwest to Gulf Coast, but was not able to confirm those concerns until it received the September survey data.
"The data we received for September is believed to be the correct numbers. It is the prior months that need revision," Conner said.
The EIA did not note the previously flawed data to the public in its latest monthly report, stating that it did not believe it would have a significant impact on how people perceive the data's reflection of the market.
But market analysts had noted the significant increase in the crude movements from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast in September, saying that if confirmed, the data could herald a dramatic reversal of a once traditional flow from the Gulf and could be an early sign of easing of the bottleneck in Canadian crude flows that have developed over the last few years.
A bottleneck has developed in the US Midwest as rising imports of Canadian crude have built up in local storage.
The market, however, will have to wait another seven months for the release of the EIA's annual report to confirm if there has in fact been a significant increase in movements between those regions.
The EIA, in a report released Monday, showed that total crude shipments from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast more than tripled in September to 164,000 b/d from 48,000 b/d in August, which included movements by pipeline, tanker and barge. Pipeline shipments made up the bulk of the increase, with the EIA showing a 106,000 b/d month-over-month increase in September.
But Michael Conner, team leader for petroleum supply statistics at the EIA, said in a telephone interview that the size and scope of the month-over-month increase in crude movements between those regions were incorrect due to flawed data for the preceding months from companies that report to the EIA.
"The data we received for previous months back to January did not include movements that should have been reported," said Conner of companies that submitted surveys to the EIA. Conner declined to say how many companies may have failed to report their crude movements properly.
Conner said the data on crude movements between the Midwest and Gulf Coast for January 2010 through August 2010 will be corrected in the EIA's annual petroleum supply report, due out in June/July 2011.
Although Conner declined to comment on the details of why movements were not reported by companies, he said that the September figures for crude movements were flagged since they were not consistent with previous months.
"When we see things that don't appear consistent, we go back and ask the company," said Conner.
He said the EIA already had questions relating to crude movement data from the Midwest to Gulf Coast, but was not able to confirm those concerns until it received the September survey data.
"The data we received for September is believed to be the correct numbers. It is the prior months that need revision," Conner said.
The EIA did not note the previously flawed data to the public in its latest monthly report, stating that it did not believe it would have a significant impact on how people perceive the data's reflection of the market.
But market analysts had noted the significant increase in the crude movements from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast in September, saying that if confirmed, the data could herald a dramatic reversal of a once traditional flow from the Gulf and could be an early sign of easing of the bottleneck in Canadian crude flows that have developed over the last few years.
A bottleneck has developed in the US Midwest as rising imports of Canadian crude have built up in local storage.
The market, however, will have to wait another seven months for the release of the EIA's annual report to confirm if there has in fact been a significant increase in movements between those regions.
