Refining's big expansion
Teapots are vying with the state giants in China, while India and the Middle East are ramping up
Investors aren't doing much to build new refining capacity in Europe and North America, but Asia, the Middle East and Africa are another story. There, demand continues to grow and governments want to cut down on import bills (or beef up export capacity) and improve energy security. In the first half of 2017, global demand for refined products outpaced expansion in crude distillation unit (CDU) capacity, even without allowing for maintenance shutdowns and output reductions due to technical problems. So capacity utilisation remained high. The longer-term trend of growth in global CDU capacity was actually interrupted in early 2017, due in part to a scaling back of capacity in Japan. But busine
Also in this section
18 April 2024
The Norwegian energy company is concentrating its efforts on specific regions and assets that meet strict cost and carbon criteria
17 April 2024
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan provide opportunities after Europe turns it back, while also offering another gateway to China
16 April 2024
Commentators need to shake off the myths of the past, with rising oil prices a boon for US economy
15 April 2024
Though hampered by methane concerns, US LNG has a crucial role to play for European and Asian energy security, US economic needs and the energy transition drive