Tightening Belts: US Oil and Gas Refining Industry Bracing for Harsh Times
SputnikNews.com
13.05.2016
American independent refiners like Marathon Petroleum and Phillips 66 are delaying projects and reducing production amid a glut in the global crude market.
The oversupply in the market has ended a golden era of high margins in the petroleum industry, according to Reuters.
Over the past six years, American oil companies have invested billions to expand production amid growing domestic and global demand for gasoline and diesel fuel. However, now the industry is nearing dark times.
Flint Hills Resources, a private operator of refineries in Minnesota and Texas, suspended a multi-million dollar upgrade of its equipment, sources told Reuters.
Contractors and engineers said the company is now focused on routine projects and does not plan new projects.
According to David Nunez, CEO of Apache Refinery Services, refiners are tightening their belts in ways no one has seen in years.
The belt-tightening follows the industry’s worst quarter since 2012, according to the article.
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