Questions remain over security of supply for European refining
Europe’s refining sector struggles to adapt
Aftershocks from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continue to roil refining and flows of products around Europe, in the Atlantic basin and across the world
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in significant disruption for the Atlantic basin refining sector. Europe’s refineries have already turned away from Russian crude, feedstocks and products amid widespread self-sanctioning and looming embargoes, but questions remain over security of supply. And there are now huge opportunities for refining centres further afield, particularly the rapidly expanding sector in the Mideast. “We expect the current tightness in global refining capacity to continue through winter,” says George Dix, refining analyst for consultancy Energy Aspects. This will be the case "particularly for diesel” due to the European embargo on Russian supply from February 2023,
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
