ExxonMobil and Chevron, two of the top U.S. oil producers, have warned that global supplies of diesel and other refined products will likely remain tight and lead to persistently high prices in the second half of the year as the Iran war continues to cause major energy disruptions.
High Production
Despite running their U.S. refineries at high capacity, Exxon and Chevron reported large jumps in second-quarter refining profits due to declining fuel stockpiles and curtailed exports from China and refinery outages in Russia. Exxon CEO Darren Woods stated that the company had a record second quarter for diesel production, while Chevron reported record throughput at its U.S. refineries of more than 1 million barrels per day.
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth noted that demand for distillates, including diesel and heating oil, is unlikely to decline over the long term, which will lead to upward pressure on product pricing. Woods added that the disruption to crude supplies has added difficulties to the downstream business, and that shipping must resume through the Strait of Hormuz to supply more crude to the market.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
