Friday 19 April 2013

European refiners face dwindling fortunes

Squeezed between shrinking exports to the United States, game-changing giant Middle East refineries and dwindling domestic demand, more European refineries are likely to face the axe.
Demand for refined product in Europe is set to decline by 170,000 bpd every year over the coming five years, leading to the closure of two small refineries or one large refinery.
Oil major Shell announced that it was considering the sale of the bulk of its downstream business in Italy, following the recent sale of refineries in Britain and Germany. Overall European refining margins, or cracks, averaged at $5.46 a barrel in March, compared with $22.83 a barrel in the United States, where refiners enjoy significantly lower crude prices.

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