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,