Magellan expecting spring fuel demand above 2019 levels

Magellan Midstream expects transportation fuel shipments across its sprawling midcontinent and US Gulf coast pipeline system to exceed spring 2019 levels by 3pc, the company said today.

Gasoline movements would also exceed 2020 volumes by 13pc, diesel by 10pc and jet fuel by 25pc compared to average shipments that plunged last spring under travel and business restrictions imposed to limit the spread of Covid-19.

But the operator cautioned that while economic and anecdotal evidence supported rising fuel demand, it was difficult to project fuel consumption.

"Projecting refined product demand in this environment is a fool's game because there are so many variables," chief executive Mike Mears said on a quarterly earnings call.

Magellan moved an average 720,000 b/d of gasoline in the first quarter, lower by 1.8pc compared to the same period of 2020. Diesel movements increased by 6.1pc over the same period to about 517,000 b/d, and aviation fuel movements fell by more than a third to average about 68,000 b/d.

By Elliott Blackburn