Will America Run Out of Diesel Fuel in 25 Days?
November 5, 2022 4:16pm
The United States currently has only a 25 days supply of diesel fuel. But claims that we will run out by Thanksgiving are false. Yes, there is only a 25 day supply sitting in tanks, but we refine more every day. So we are always adding to the stockpile. But a 25 day supply is quite low.
Is the shortage of diesel fuel Joe Biden's fault? Not entirely, no. But he does bear some of the blame because his anti-fossil fuel policies have restricted domestic production as demand has gone up. There are a few reasons demand has gone up. U.S. refinery capacity has fallen in the past few years. The low water level in the Mississippi River has forced a lot of barge freight onto trucks, and trucks burn diesel. That increased usage is magnified by the seasonal demand for home heating oil in the northeast. Home heating oil is basically the same distillate as diesel. So people filling their home heating oil tanks in anticipation of winter are competing with transportation for what are at the refinery level essentially the same fuels. And that's all driving up consumption while Biden continues to restrict drilling.
Biden and the Democrats, along with their dishonest supporters in the propaganda press are telling us the shortage is due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But that is a lie. Sure, the invasion of Ukraine and the embargo against the importation of fuel from Russia has reduced what is available in the U.S. But the amount we used to import from Russia is LESS than the reduction of domestic production Biden's policies have caused.
America is extracting 1.2 million barrels per day less than our peak pre-Biden production. We used to import 360 thousand barrels per day from Russia. Do the math. We are NOT producing more than three times what we used to get from Russia. We should be MORE than making up for the shortfall of Russian oil. But we're not. Why? Because Biden and his fellow DemonRats think oil is the enemy.
During President Trump's four years in office, we averaged a 35.9 day supply of diesel. Even under Biden, our average supply has been 31.5 days, although it has been trending downward from the 44 day supply we had the day he was inaugurated. The current 25 day supply of diesel is about 25% lower than what we typically have on hand. And it is 43% lower than what Biden inherited.
But we will not "run out of diesel in 25 days" as some have claimed.
DATA SOURCE: https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/weekly/download.php