石油设备网讯 据烃加工在线4月3日消息，2018年美国炼油加工量达到日均1730万桶，再创历史新高，这已经是美国炼油加工量连续第5年创历史新高。2018年6月份美国炼油加工量达到日均1800万桶的峰值，2018年有六周时间，美国炼油日均加工量超过1800万桶。
炼油厂柴油炼制利润（原油价格与柴油批发价格的差值）的居高不下为炼油商在汽油炼制利润较低的情况下维持高运营提供了动力。美国炼油加工量创历史新高在很大程度上是由墨西哥湾沿岸和中西部地区的炼油业务推动。
美国一半以上的炼油产能都位于墨西哥湾沿岸，该地区2018年的日均炼油加工量超过920万桶，比此前5年的平均水平高出8%，年平均加工量首次超过900万桶/日。中西部地区炼油产能位居第二，2018年炼油日均加工量为380万桶，比此前五年的平均水平高出6%。
2018年美国炼油厂产能利用率平均为93.2%，比2017年增长2.1%左右。尽管加工量创历史新高，但利用率并没有超过1998年创下的95.6%的纪录。美国炼油厂并没有提高产能利用率，而是增加了产能。2013年12月至2018年12月，美国炼油产能增加了78.3万桶/日。
庞晓华 摘译自 烃加工在线
原文如下：
U.S. refinery runs hit fifth consecutive annual record high in 2018
Gross inputs to US petroleum refineries averaged 17.3 million barrels per day in 2018, the highest annual average on record and the fifth consecutive year of record-high refinery runs. Refinery runs peaked in June at an average of 18.0 Mbpd, with average weekly runs exceeding 18.0 Mbpd during six weeks in 2018.
High refinery diesel margins—the difference between the acquisition price of crude oil and the wholesale price of diesel fuel—have provided an incentive for refiners to maintain high runs despite low gasoline refinery margins. The record-high U.S. gross refinery input levels are driven in large part by refinery operations in the Gulf Coast and Midwest regions.
In the Gulf Coast, which is home to more than half of all U.S. refinery capacity, refinery runs averaged more than 9.2 Mbpd in 2018, 8% higher than the previous five-year average for that region and the first time the annual average surpassed 9.0 Mbpd. The Midwest has the second-highest refinery capacity, and refinery runs averaged 3.8 Mbpd in 2018, or 6% higher than the previous five-year average.
Refinery utilization as a percentage of operable capacity averaged 93.2% in 2018, an increase of about 2.1% from 2017. Despite record-high inputs, utilization rates have not surpassed the record of 95.6% set in 1998. Rather than running at higher utilization rates, refineries have increased their capacity: U.S. refinery capacity increased by 783,000 barrels per calendar day between December 2013 and December 2018.
