Lates News

The refining industry is undergoing a historic upheaval, but at the same time, its profitability has reached unprecedented heights. This year, attacks on the Middle East and Russia have caused a severe shortage of global fuel processing capacity, forcing refineries in other regions to operate at full capacity and enabling them to charge higher prices. In September of this year, refining margins along the U.S. Gulf Coast rose to a record high of $72 per barrel, more than tripling from the beginning of the year. As gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel prices soared, refining margins in Europe and Asia also posted similar gains. For the refining industry, this is in some ways a renaissance. Previously, with the spread of electric vehicles and hybrid cars and the rise of remote work, many had warned that the industry was inevitably heading for decline. Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy, and Phillips 66, all spun off from their parent companies more than a decade ago, are now among the 20 best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 this year, with share prices up more than 100% since January.