California Crude Stocks Lowest In Years.

According to a published Dow Jones report yesterday, California crude oil stocks are the lowest they've been since before 2000:

Latest data show California crude stocks stood at 11.64 million barrels, up fractionally from the Dec. 29 level, which was the lowest since Oct 8, 2004. But because crude oil input to refineries is high, the relative level of stocks is lower.

California refineries processed an average of 1.88 million barrels a day of crude in the week ended Jan. 5, up 58,000 barrels a day from a week earlier and 99,000 barrels a day more than a year ago, when crude stocks were 2.7 million barrels higher.

CEC's Rob Schlicting shrugged off the news, noting that refinery consumption of crude has been increased of late to meet demand for more of California's unique gasoline blend. Schlicting also cited a healthy dose of market hedging-- crude prices have been lower (relatively speaking) lately, and companies have more than likely been waiting for them to stabilize before stocking up supplies.

To put current inventory in perspective:

Stocks levels are even lower than they were after a corrosion problem at a pipeline from BP’s Prudhoe Bay oil field cut Alaska North Slope output by as much 400,000 barrels a day in August 2006, and California refiners scrambled to line up alternative supplies. Crude stocks then remained above 14 million barrels and were sufficient to cover at least eight days of demand.

Relatively Low California Crude Stocks Bear Watching [Dow Jones]