An overview of the main issues likely to be addressed by the refining industry over the next 15 years or Do deep changes in petroleum product demand require another way of thinking about refining ?

摘要

The changes in petroleum product demand which are currently in progress in Europe and will likely occur tomorrow elsewhere in the world are driven by strong environmental concerns and should be much deeper than ever in the history of the refining industry. Therefore, they should have a major impact on the way this industry is going to evolve. So, making relevant decisions on how to better meet the future challenges will certainly require that refiners make up their mind and do not only rely on current approach and conventional solutions. Moreover, there are still a lot of uncertainties about the future. If one can be sure that it will not look like the past, it will certainly be different from what one can imagine today, either. So, we should keep cautious and open-minded.