Majors refocus on refining and retail

摘要

The majors are refocusing their downstream priorities and targeting refinery upgrades after years of consolidation. The majors’ downstream divisions have buoyed their finances since oil prices started to decline in mid-2014, requiring far lower capital expenditure than upstream assets. But the performance of different downstream segments has diverged. Shell’s returns on average capital employed have been considerably higher for marketing and chemicals than for refining in the past year, mirroring a trend at other European firms.