U.S. Refineries Overdue for Critical Maintenance

After a year and a half of Covid-related demand destruction, an onslaught of hurricanes, and a deadly freeze on the Gulf Coast, the U.S. refining market seems to be turning the corner. On the horizon for 2022 are the prospects of fatter profit margins, stronger U.S. demand, export opportunities, whittled-down inventories and less competition after several shutdowns. But that means refiners will have to be nimble and spend on costly, long-overdue maintenance work to take advantage of an improved market.

“There’s likely to be an increased level of turnaround outages this winter and spring, and that should also be good for margins. 2022 should be a good year for refiners,” said John Auers, executive vice president at Turner Mason in Dallas. “Many, including us, are optimistic for a pretty strong summer.”