Trends in utilization of conversion units

As we saw in the preceding section, the crude slate processed by U.S. refineries bas become much lighter on average. This result has obtained not because the entirety of the crude slate has gradually become lighter; rather, the availability of domestic light crude has replaced the vast majority of imported light crude and, more meaningfully, also a large fraction of imports of intermediate crudes. On the other hand, the inflow of heavy crudes used by complex, coking refineries has shown itself much more resilient. As a result, the share of intermediate crudes in the crude slate has declined materially over time.

In 2019, relative to their nameplate capacities, refineries’ conversion units saw lower rates of utilization relative to 2018 (see Fig. . T