Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts

The United States is divided into five Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts, or PADDs. These were created during World War II under the Petroleum Administration for War to help organize the allocation of fuels derived from petroleum products, including gasoline and diesel (or "distillate") fuel. Today, these regions are still used for data collection purposes.

The Petroleum Administration for War was established in 1942 by executive order, and abolished in 1946. The districts are now named for the later Petroleum Administration for Defense which existed during the Korean War. It was established by the Defense Production Act of 1950, then abolished in 1954, with its role taken over by the U.S. Department of Interior's Oil and Gas Division.

For administrative purposes the US government divides the US into five Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts (PADDs). These were created during World War II to help organize the allocation of fuels, including gasoline and diesel fuel. Today, these regions are still used for data collection purposes.

PADD 1 covers the East Coast of the United States. Due to their location, refineries in the central US have enjoyed cheap domestic tight oil and discounted oil sands production from Canada. Meanwhile, refineries on the East Coast have been forced to buy oil from overseas at higher world prices due to North American pipeline bottlenecks. Five refineries on the US East Coast have been forced to close since 2010, and three more were threatened with closure before they sold at discounted prices. Pipelines are the cheapest and safest method of oil transportation in North America. However, due to the lack of pipelines, East Coast refineries must bring in domestic North Dakota Bakken oil and imported Western Canadian oil sands production by rail. Imports account for the vast majority of PADD 1 refinery feedstock, but only a small portion of it comes from Canada, mostly Canadian Atlantic offshore production. Very little comes from the Canadian oil sands. Most of the refineries can handle only sweet, light crude oil, so even heavy, sour Western Canadian Select would not be a good feedstock. Imports of heavy oil from Western Canada could rise in the next few years via deliveries by rail, but it is unlikely that much oil sands production will be processed there.

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