Outlook for the refining industry

Conference · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5335677

Hermes, R A ^[1]

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1. Purvin and Gertz, Inc., Dallas, TX (USA)

The 1980s have been a difficult decade for the refining industry. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, capacity was installed in anticipation of continued growth and consumption, but demand declined substantially, resulting in excess refining capacity. The transition in the 1980s from a crude-short to a crude-long environment has also been very troublesome for the refining industry, because it has resulted in falling product prices and inflexible crude oil prices. During the 1980s, over 100 refineries, totaling approximately 3.5 million barrels per day or over 20% of total capacity, have been shut down. In this paper the author analyzes recent trends in refinery margins and highlight the factors that have caused margins to be high or low during different time periods. The future outlook for these factors and other factors that will impact the industry are reviewed. The outlook for refineries of various complexities is examined.

• OSTI ID: 5335677
• Report Number(s): CONF-8903125--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020400* -- Petroleum-- Processing
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
FORECASTING
FUELS
GASOLINE
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
LIQUID FUELS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PETROLEUM REFINERIES
PRODUCTION