Gulf Coast jet fuel production hits high

According to Platts, fuel production in the area hasn’t been this high since 2005.    Jet fuel production in the Gulf Coast rose to 889,000 barrels per day during the week before Christmas, Platts reported last week.
   The result is the highest output in the region since 2005. Gulf Coast production was up 99,000 barrels per day compared to the same period in 2013, and production had risen more than 60,000 barrels per day over the previous week.
   “Gulf Coast jet differentials have reached record lows in late December as traders see few good shipping outlets for the product glut and have no desire to add inventory as year-end tax calculations are made,” Platts reported.
   The International Air Transport Association last reported the average worldwide price of jet fuel for the week ending Dec. 5 at $85.8 per barrel. The price had dropped 7.6 percent from the previous week and 15.2 percent from the previous month. The weekly result was 32.9 percent less than the same week in 2013.
   In the Asia-Pacific, carriers were seeing prices at an average of $84.7 per barrel, with jet fuel in the Middle East and Africa running around $82.1 per barrel. In North America, prices hovered around $86.3 per barrel.