Wax on, wax off-shale oil's 'waxy' features crimp US jet fuel supply

Jet fuel prices are at 6-year highs, and part of the reason is linked to record US shale crude production and the unique properties refiners contend with when they refine that oil. The US produced about 4.7m barrels per day of crude from shale formations in 2017. US refiners have been using more of that abundant oil to manufacture diesel, gasoline and jet fuel. Shale crude differs somewhat from oil from other formations. Refiners have found that when making diesel, their second-most common product after gasoline, they need to take measures to offset that waxiness to make the fuel usable for truck and car engines. One option is to add kerosene and other components commonly found in jet fuel. However, that reduces the available pool of jet fuel at a time when strong economic growth has boosted air travel. <br/>