Figures from the data company Refinitiv show how the business of refining oil has become so profitable in the past year.
On the 8 June 2021, refiners were making $9.26 per barrel from refining petrol, and $6.84 per barrel refining diesel.
On Wednesday, they were making $43.11 on petrol, up 366%, and $51.13 on diesel, up 648%.
Figures published by BP, which owns a number of refineries in Europe and the US, shows its own measure of refining profits, the ‘Refining Marker Margin’, up from $7.7 dollars per barrel to $35.7 over the past year.
US oil giant ExxonMobil owns a number of refineries, including Fawley in Hampshire, the UK’s largest. Last month the Financial Times quoted its chief executive Darren Woods as saying he did not think that the “very, very high margin environment” was “good for economies around the world.”
A source close to a major refinery owner argued that the refiners don’t set the margins themselves. Prices for crude oil, petrol and diesel are determined by the market – what supplies are available, and how much buyers will pay.