November oil products deliveries, a measure of demand, were an estimated 19.015 million bpd, dropping 7.4 percent from a year ago to the lowest November level since 1988, said API in its monthly statistical report released last week.

At an estimated 8.910 million bpd, gasoline deliveries in November fell 3.5 percent versus the corresponding 2007 period. Distillate deliveries were an estimated 3.873 million bpd, a drop of 4.9 percent compared with a year ago. Estimated at 1.455 million bpd in November, jet fuel deliveries tumbled 9.0 percent on the year, while residual fuel oil deliveries, estimated at 639,000 bpd, sank nearly 17.0 percent.

“The decline in oil demand reflects the nation’s faltering economy,” said Ron Planting, manager, information and analysis for the American Petroleum Institute. “And the decline occurred even though prices were dramatically down-in the case of gasoline, more than 30 percent less than November 2007. Indeed, from October to November 2008, gasoline prices plummeted 90 cents per gallon on average.”

The Energy Information Administration released its reference case for long-term energy demand and production, projecting flat oil consumption and slower growth in energy use through 2030. The EIA also projects less reliance by the United States on oil imports, and expects the increase in carbon dioxide emissions to slow.

For the first time in more than 20 years, the EIA said that it projects virtually no growth in U.S. oil consumption, “reflecting the combined effect of recently enacted CAFE standards, requirements for increased use of renewable fuels, and an assumed rebound in oil prices as the world economy recovers.”

The EIA said overall liquid fuel demand in its reference case will grow by only one million bpd between 2007 and 2030. As a result, “increased use of domestically-produced biofuels, and rising domestic oil production spurred by higher prices, the net import share of total liquids supplied, including biofuels, declines from 58 percent in 2007 to less than 40 percent in 2025 before increasing to 41 percent in 2030,” the EIA said.