US base oils and lube supply fell to a four-year low in February amid a simultaneous slump in domestic production and imports.The sharp fall in supply cushioned the impact of a seasonal slowdown in demand during the winter months.Total supply, or domestic output and imports combined, fell to 4.78 million barrels (673,000 tonnes) in February, government data showed..The volume fell from 6.35 million barrels the previous month to the lowest since February 2021, when an unusually cold winter storm in the US Gulf coast triggered a wave of disruptions to refinery operations.Cold weather again affected some US Gulf coast refineries in January this year, although the impact was much more muted.Even so, US base oils output still fell in February to the lowest since February 2021.The slump in output partly reflected the impact of some scheduled plant maintenance work.A sustained period of low base oils output in some regions also pointed to other factors such as run-cuts or ongoing production issues.Paraffinic base oils output in the Louisiana Gulf coast district fell in February to the lowest since November, when a plant underwent some partial maintenance work.The district’s output of 1.38 million barrels/month in the four months to February was down from typical levels of more than 1.53 million barrels/month in the year to October 2024.Paraffinic base oils output in the Texas Gulf coast district fell in February to the lowest since October 2023.Paraffinic base oils output of 105,000 barrels in the US West coast district fell to a similar level to last October, when a major base oils unit underwent major maintenance work.A slump in US base oils imports compounded the fall in domestic output.Imports of 837,000 barrels in February fell from close to 1.70 million barrels the previous month to the second-lowest level since mid-2021.The lowest level since then was in December.US Group II base oils prices and margins held in a narrow range in the first quarter of the year even with February's sharp drop in supply..US’ February base oils imports fall.S Korea’s March exports to US edge down
