U.S. oil prices fell to a more than four-month low on Thursday after government data showed a build in inventories and record-high crude production.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude futures lost $3.76, or 4.9%, to close at $72.90 a barrel yesterday, its lowest since Jul 6.

We believe that oil’s ongoing descent allows long-term-oriented market participants to buy shares in quality companies at attractive prices. Iinvestors interested in the sector could benefit from having stocks like Delek US Holdings (DK Quick QuoteDK - Free Report) , EOG Resources (EOG Quick QuoteEOG - Free Report) and Civitas Resources (CIVI Quick QuoteCIVI - Free Report) .

Let's dig deep into EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report for the week ending Nov 10.

Analyzing the Latest EIA Report

Crude Oil: The federal government’s EIA report revealed that crude inventories rose 3.6 million barrels. The stockpile draw with the world’s biggest oil consumer was largely thanks to the sustained strength in imports and continued high domestic production, which, at 13.2 million barrels per day, is the highest on record.  

Total domestic stock now stands at 439.4 million barrels — slightly above the year-ago figure of 435.4 million barrels but 2% less than the five-year average.

The latest report also showed that supplies at the Cushing terminal (the key delivery hub for U.S. crude futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange) gained 1.9 million barrels to 25 million barrels — the highest since September.

Meanwhile, the crude supply cover increased from 28.5 days in the previous week to 28.8 days. In the year-ago period, the supply cover was 27.4 days.

Let’s turn to the products now.

Gasoline: Gasoline supplies decreased for the second time in as many weeks. The 1.5 million-barrel drop was primarily attributable to strong demand. At 215.7 million barrels, the current stock of the most widely used petroleum product is 3.8% more than the year-earlier level, while it is 1% below the five-year average range.

Distillate: Distillate fuel supplies (including diesel and heating oil) fell for the seventh straight week. The 1.4 million-barrel decrease mainly reflected robust consumption and a pullback in imports. Following last week’s draw, current inventories — at 106.6 million barrels — are slightly (0.7%) below the year-ago level and 13% lower than the five-year average.

Refinery Rates: Refinery utilization came in at 86.1%.

3 Energy Stocks to Buy

Having gone through the Weekly Petroleum Status Report, investors interested in the energy space might consider the operators mentioned below. These companies currently carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Delek US Holdings: DK beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the trailing four quarters at an average of 34.2%.

Delek US Holdings is valued at around $1.8 billion. DK has seen its shares move down 19.4% in a year.

EOG Resources: EOG Resources beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the last four quarters and missed in the other. EOG has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.2%, on average.

EOG Resources is valued at around $71.8 billion. EOG has seen its shares drop 14.4% in a year.

Civitas Resources: Over the past 60 days, Civitas Resources saw the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 move up 7.8%. CIVI beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in two of the last four quarters.

Civitas Resources is valued at around $6.7 billion. CIVI has seen its shares gain 2.1% in a year.