Refining faces extended Covid effect
A partial recovery is unlikely to segue into a strong year to come
The refining industry is far from out of the woods going into 2021, even though demand has rebounded from the lows of the second quarter of 2020. The oversupply that has accrued will continue to expedite a global trend of refinery closures and rationalisations already announced during 2020. But China will be a notable exception. The windfall on which refiners were counting from a rise in low sulphur marine fuel demand following IMO 2020 failed to materialise as Covid-19 overtook events. Global oil demand registered its largest decline this century, plunging by 20-25mn bl/d at the pandemic’s peak. Refining margins tumbled as the oil surplus ballooned, sending combined crude and refined produc
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
