Heating oil is used for space and water heating
Heating oil and diesel fuel are closely related petroleum products called distillates. This oil is sold mainly for use in boilers and furnaces (for space heating) and in water heaters.
Where does heating oil come from?
It is a distillate fuel sold mainly for use in boilers, furnaces, and water heaters. The United States has two primary sources of heating oil:
In recent years, some suppliers have begun offering blends of petroleum distillate and biofuels to consumers. This blended oil is generally 5% biofuel by volume.
U.S. refineries supply most of U.S. distillate demand. Oil imports generally supplement supplies during the winter mostly to help meet consumer demand in the Northeast. Distillate products are moved throughout the United States by pipelines, tankers (ships), barges, trains, and trucks.
Winter heating oil inventories are built up during summer and fall
Refiners have limitations on the amount of heating oil they can make to meet consumer demand during the winter heating season. Refiners can increase heating oil production in the winter, but increasing distillate production means they also have to produce greater amounts of other petroleum products. If no market exists for larger volumes of other petroleum products, this lack of demand may limit the amount of extra heating oil that they produce. Therefore, some of the oil that refiners produce in the summer and autumn is stored for delivery in the winter. During the winter, suppliers use these stored inventories/stocks to help meet demand.
Imports supplement domestic production
The United States imports the oil from other countries to supplement U.S. refinery production and inventories. Most U.S. imports of distillate come from Canada and are imported into the East Coast, where most of U.S. residential sector oil consumption occurs. On average, East Coast distillate imports are highest during the winter months to help meet oil demand.
How the oil is transported to consumers
Refiners and other suppliers send the oil to storage terminals for distribution to consumers. For example, the oil is sent to a large central distribution area, such as New York Harbor, and then it may be transported by rail or barge to other storage facilities in the Northeast. From those facilities it is trucked to smaller storage tanks close to retail dealers’ customers or delivered directly to consumers.
If you have any questions about heating oil, please contact us.
