Refiners and finance: who’s winning and where?

Companies that splurged on sophisticated capacity additions, like Repsol and Tüpraş, and the majors with balanced upstream-downstream portfolios will benefit most

While upstream oil and gas have harvested most of the corporate headlines over the past year, the often-overlooked oil refining sector has been delivering both volume and value for its backers. Analysts believe that value could continue to accrue for some time to come. Consultants Wood MacKenzie note that their 2017 Global Composite Margin, which gives an indication of crude oil refining margins worldwide, registered its second highest average since 2010—at $6.40 a barrel. This was only lower in 2015 when it registered $7.20/b, during the oil price crash. Wood MacKenzie forecasts that the margin won't dip below $6/b until after 2020. In this context, large diversified refiners operating comp