REFINERY MARGIN TRACKER: Impact of strong USGC margins ripples across other regions
US Gulf Coast refining margins strengthened as refiners moved forward to restart their plants back after unusually low temperatures forced them offline in mid-February, supporting refining margins higher than the same time in 2020, an analysis from S&P Global Platts showed March 8.
The freeze overwhelmed Texas’ stand-alone electricity grid, and refiners shut down their plants to conserve power for residents to heat their houses, sending USGC refinery utilization to 40.9% for the week ended Feb. 26, the lowest level on record reported by the Energy Information Administration.
On a weekly basis, USGC refining margins jumped higher across the board for the week ended March 5, with WTI MEH cracking margins averaging $12.61/b compared with the $11.88/b the week earlier, S&P Global Platts Analytics data showed.
Oil Slides With U.S. Refinery Outages Boding Poorly for Demand
Bloomberg 2/18/2021 Andres Guerra Luz
(Bloomberg) Oil fell the most in nearly a month alongside a broader market selloff with the ongoing energy crisis in the U.S. likely keeping refineries shut for another week.
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Futures in New York declined 1% in a choppy trading session on Thursday. While U.S. oil output has plunged nearly 40% amid the unprecedented cold blast in parts of the country, crude demand from refineries is expected to remain weak as Gulf Coast fuel-making plants make repairs and take time to restart following operating issues caused by the freezing temperatures. Further pressuring prices, U.S. equities weakened after initial jobless claims hit a four-week high.