Refineries Running Hard Amid High Margins and Tight Market: Equinor

Global crude and fuel markets are tight, with refineries running as hard as they can to capitalise on high margins according to Equinor.

• “Higher interest rates mean it’s more costly to carry inventories, and low inventories put a little bit more volatility into the system,” said Alex Grant, senior vice president for crude, products and liquids.
• Opportunities are still there with the high margins and good profits to be made despite higher funding costs.
• Longer term, “there is more refining capacity predicted to come on stream outside of China, so there could be big bumps of marginal potential product supply,” he said
• Equinor has no plans to divert Johan Sverdrup supply from Europe, but “if it comes to a point where Europe needs it less, and Asia is saying they need more by virtue of the prices they’re offering, we will then make plans to move quite quickly.”