Covid-19 compounds European refiners’ challenges

The demand impact from widespread lockdowns causes an immediate demand headache. But longer-term structural obstacles remain

“The prospects for European gasoline look particularly grim at the moment.” So says Chris Judge, vice-president, crude and oil products at price reporting agency Argus Media and an analyst of European refined products markets for well over 20 years. Or, rather said. As, to put into context the scale of both the short and longer-term challenges facing the European refining sector, Judge uttered these words in late February, before the extent of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on European and global products demand was clear. These short-term challenges are daunting enough in themselves. The grounding of the majority of the world’s planes and strict lockdowns on people’s mobility bite hard