Oil industry and government focus has increasingly shifted onto reduced refinery capacity as recent weeks have seen price rises for refined products far outstrip those for crude. US President Joe Biden wrote to refiners last week calling on them to boost output in an effort to bring down pump prices.
The IEA’s World Energy Investment 2022 report, released 22 June, notes that “the refining sector saw its first reduction in global refining capacity in 30 years in 2021, as the 1.8mn b/d of retirements outpaced relatively modest additions in China and the Middle East. This presaged and contributed to the extraordinary rise in refining margins seen during the crisis in 2022.” (CONTINUED - 925 WORDS)
