Global trends for distillate fuels, which include diesel and heating oil, are quickly increasing the demand for the fuel and triggering major changes in the United States’ role in the world distillate market.
Distillate fuels, which count as the second largest petroleum product consumed in the U.S., are used for everything from fuel for trucks and trains to residential heating and even a small amount of power generation.
The U.S. was a net importer of small volumes of distillate for many years, with imports primarily originating from Canada and the Virgin Islands, explains the Energy Information Administration. The U.S. imports would usually occur during the winter heating season, "when additional supplies from areas like Eastern and Western Europe and Latin America would occasionally surge," said the EIA.