Preliminary data for November shows total European stocks fell by 12.8 mb to stand at 1,125.8 mb, which is 12.2 mb, or 1.1%, below the same time a year ago and 46.7 mb, or 4.3%, higher than the latest five-year average. Crude stocks rose by 3.6 mb, while product stocks fell by 16.4 mb.
European crude inventories rose in November, reversing the decline of the last five consecutive months. At 478.4 mb, European crude stocks stood at 2.2 mb, or 0.5%, lower than the same period a year ago, but were 10.0 mb, or 2.1%, higher than the seasonal norm. The increase in crude oil stocks came on the back of higher domestic production, as refinery throughput increased by around 330,000 b/d, to reach 10.85 mb/d in November.
By contrast, European product stocks fell by 16.4 mb, ending November at 647.4 mb, which is 9.9 mb, or 1.5%, below the same time a year ago, though they were 36.6 mb, or 6.0%, above the seasonal norm. All products, with the exception of naphtha, saw stock draws.
Distillate stocks fell by 13.8 mb in November to stand at 435.8 mb. At this level, distillate inventories were 5.3 mb, or 1.2%, lower than the same time one year ago, but they were still 43.7 mb, or 11.1%, above the latest five-year average. Gasoline stocks also decreased by 2.5 mb in November to stand at 113.1 mb, which was 0.5 mb, or 0.4%, above a year earlier, and 4.1 mb, or 3.8%, higher than the seasonal norm. The fall in distillate and gasoline stocks could be attributed to higher domestic demand.
Residual fuel oil stocks fell by 0.6 mb in November to stand at 74.2 mb, which was 7.0 mb, or 8.7%, less than the same month a year ago and 8.7 mb, or 10.5%, lower than the latest five-year average.