World Fuel: U.S. Jet-A Supply at ‘Critical Levels’

Jet fuel supply in the U.S. is at “critical levels,” World Fuel sales director Wesley Earl told attendees yesterday at the Florida Aviation Business Association (FABA) annual conference in Tampa. Supply is currently at 45 days, well off the normal 105- to 150-day range, he noted.

While the U.S. is a net oil exporter, Earl said refineries there are set up to process heavy crude mainly imported from the Middle East, not the light sweet crude produced domestically via fracking. “Supply shortages take time to resolve,” he explained, adding that it takes a ship carrying oil more than 50 days to go from the Middle East to a U.S. port. The last major tanker carrying oil from the Middle East docked in California earlier this month, and no further arrivals are pending due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the Iran war started on February 28.

“If this continues, it will have an impact on aircraft operators,” Earl noted. “Most FBOs only have enough fuel farm storage to keep three to five days of jet-A supply on hand.”

According to oil production industry experts, it would take three to five years to convert U.S. refineries to accept light sweet crude. That means it’s not feasible for the U.S. to switch to domestic oil supplies in the near-term to relieve any shortages.