Expect record global refinery throughput in Q3
Runs may surge but they won’t match demand growth
Global refinery throughput will reach a record level in Q3-but the volume still won't be enough to satisfy a rising market. Stocks will fall slowly to compensate, which should in turn tighten matters. Refinery throughput will reach 80.6m barrels a day, forecasts the International Energy Agency (IEA), peaking at 81.1m b/d in July. Throughput in rich nations will rise by 1.1m b/d from Q2 levels, reaching 38.3m b/d. Non-OECD throughput will also rise by the same amount, the IEA said, accounting for the remaining 42.3m b/d. But the overall numbers hide a detail that should provide some bullish impetus. The 2.2m b/d rise from Q2's global throughput is just 0.6m b/d higher than a year earlier-and,
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat






