New issues add to Europe refinery woes

摘要

London—The threat of more plant closures continues to loom over the European refining sector, as new challenges add to those already hitting an industry struggling to survive in the face of international competition and falling demand. The competitiveness of European refineries was already affected by subsidized national companies, new capacity coming onstream in the Middle East and big superscale refineries. New to the game is rising competition from across the Atlantic, where US refineries are benefiting from access to cheaper unconventional oil.