De-integration drivers miss US refining windfall

摘要

As integrated US energy producers con- tinue to exit from downstream busi- nesses, some upstream companies that have spun off downstream operations are missing out on a major benefit of their former integration. ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil, which split off their downstream busi- nesses in 2011 and 2012, respectively, are largely reliant on booming North Ameri- can onshore oil development to drive the production growth demanded by upstream investors. But with the US midcontinent glutted with crude, inland output is selling at discounts to US benchmark WTI, which is itself selling at discounts of $20/bl or more to Atlantic basin marker North Sea Dated. While US onshore oil producers take a beating on price realisations, mid- continent refiners are enjoying wide profit margins (WPA, 8 February, p12).