US Refinery Utilization Rate: Weekly EIA Data Since 1990
The US refinery utilization rate measures how hard US refineries are running relative to their operable capacity, expressed as a weekly percentage. Published by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) every week since November 1990, it is the principal supply-side gauge of the US refining system: sustained highs signal tight refined-product markets, while sharp drops flag hurricane outages, demand collapses, or planned maintenance turnarounds. Because refiners can briefly run above their rated operable capacity, the series occasionally exceeds 100 percent.
Dataset: US Refinery Utilization Rate (1990–2026) · Updated 2026-07-03
Loading data…
Source: US Energy Information Administration (EIA), Weekly Petroleum Status · series WPULEUS3
Macro Takeaway
Refinery utilization is the throughput side of US fuel supply: it shows whether the physical refining system can meet product demand or is running against its limits. Across the full 1990–2026 history the rate has averaged about 90%, so readings in the mid-to-high 90s indicate a system running hot with little slack, while drops into the 70s or below mark genuine disruption. High utilization tends to coincide with wide 3-2-1 crack spreads, because both reflect tight product markets: refiners maximise runs precisely when margins reward it.
The largest declines in the series are event-driven rather than cyclical. The record low of 56.0% on 26 February 2021 came from Winter Storm Uri, which froze Gulf Coast refineries; the 2005 hurricane season (Katrina and Rita) took the rate to 69.8%, and the COVID-19 demand collapse pushed it to 67.6% in April 2020. Read alongside the WTI crude oil price and the gasoline retail price, utilization distinguishes supply-driven fuel spikes (falling utilization) from demand- or crude-driven ones.
Dataset Overview
| Indicator | US Refinery Utilization Rate (1990–2026) |
|---|---|
| Geography | United States |
| Frequency | Weekly |
| Period | 1990–2026 |
| Variables | date, refinery_utilization |
| Format | CSV, Excel (XLSX) |
| Sources | US Energy Information Administration (EIA), Weekly Petroleum Status Report — series WPULEUS3 |
| Last updated | 2026-07-03 |
Dataset Variables
The CSV and Excel files contain the following columns.
| Column | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
date | Date (YYYY-MM-DD) | Week-ending observation date (Friday) |
refinery_utilization | Float | US percent utilization of refinery operable capacity, weekly (EIA WPULEUS3) |
Column names match the CSV headers exactly.
Download the Complete Dataset
The full US refinery utilization dataset is available in CSV and Excel formats.
Direct CSV Access — Eco3min Structured Dataset
https://eco3min.fr/dataset/eia/us-refinery-utilization.csv
This URL returns the complete dataset in CSV format. It can be used directly in pandas, R, curl, or any data tool. The underlying data is EIA series WPULEUS3, published in the EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report; this page provides a clean, analysis-ready CSV with a consistent header and both CSV and Excel downloads.
Using the Dataset in Python
import pandas as pd
url = "https://eco3min.fr/dataset/eia/us-refinery-utilization.csv"
df = pd.read_csv(url, parse_dates=["date"])
print(df.tail())
print(f"Latest utilization: {df['refinery_utilization'].iloc[-1]:.1f}%")
Using the Dataset in R
library(readr) url <- "https://eco3min.fr/dataset/eia/us-refinery-utilization.csv" df <- read_csv(url) tail(df) summary(df$refinery_utilization)
Both examples load the dataset directly from the URL — no download or API key required.
Methodology
The US Energy Information Administration derives percent utilization of refinery operable capacity from its weekly survey of US refineries, reported in the Weekly Petroleum Status Report (series WPULEUS3). Utilization is gross crude and other inputs to distillation units as a share of operable capacity, so it can exceed 100% when refiners run above rated capacity during peak demand. A neighbouring angle: how to read the US refinery utilisation rate. The Eco3min pipeline pulls the series from the EIA open-data API and writes the CSV, Excel and JSON files.
EIA publishes the weekly figure on Wednesdays, covering the week ending the prior Friday; the pipeline refreshes on that cadence. Weekly values are occasionally revised in subsequent releases as refiners reconcile survey data.
Historical Regimes
1990s — Running hot. Through the mid-to-late 1990s the US system ran near its limit, peaking at 100.5% on 28 August 1998, as demand growth outpaced capacity additions and refiners pushed operable capacity to the maximum.
2005 — Gulf hurricanes. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita shut a large share of Gulf Coast refining; utilization fell to 69.8% on 30 September 2005, one of the sharpest weather-driven drops in the series.
2008 — Ike and the financial crisis. Hurricane Ike combined with collapsing demand to take utilization to 66.7% on 19 September 2008, a low that reflected both physical outage and a demand shock.
2020 — COVID demand collapse. As fuel demand evaporated, refiners cut runs and utilization fell to 67.6% on 17 April 2020 — a demand-driven trough rather than a supply outage.
2021 — Winter Storm Uri. The February 2021 Texas freeze knocked out Gulf Coast refining and drove utilization to its dataset low of 56.0% on 26 February 2021, the deepest single-week drop in the record.
2022–2026 — Tight throughput. With capacity reduced by post-pandemic closures and product demand firm, utilization returned to the mid-90s, running near the top of its historical range; the latest reading is 95.8%. For a different view, see the full record of US refinery closures since 2020.
Related Macroeconomic Datasets
Utilization is best read with refining margins, the crude input, and the product prices it feeds.
- US 3-2-1 Crack Spread — the margin gauge; high utilization and wide cracks typically coincide
- WTI Crude Oil Price — the crude input that refineries process
- US Gasoline Retail Price — the product whose supply utilization drives at the pump
- US Diesel Retail Price — the on-highway distillate output
- NY Harbor Heating Oil Spot Price — a distillate output of the refining system
- US Gulf Coast Jet Fuel Spot Price — the aviation distillate cut
Related Analysis
- Refining Margins: The Hidden Driver of Oil Profits — why throughput and margins move oil-sector earnings
- What drives oil refining margins? — the supply-and-demand context around utilization
Macroeconomic Dataset Hub
This dataset is part of the Eco3min macro-financial data repository. Explore all available datasets including energy benchmarks, interest rates, equity returns, credit spreads, and currency indicators.
Explore the Eco3min Dataset Hub
Sources
- US Energy Information Administration (EIA) — Weekly Petroleum Status Report, percent utilization of refinery operable capacity (WPULEUS3)
- Eco3min Research — structured dataset compilation
Dataset Reference
Last updated — 4 August 2026
Disclaimer – Financial Information: The analyses, commentary, and content published on eco3min.fr are provided for informational and educational purposes only. They do not constitute investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell financial instruments. Past performance is not indicative of future results. All investment decisions involve risk and are the sole responsibility of the reader.