Refining margins to climb until end-2021: analysts

REFINING margins are expected to continue climbing till the end of the year following a recent surge. But, the road to recovery remains bumpy say analysts The Business Times spoke with.

Spencer Welch, vice president of oil markets and downstream consulting at IHS Markit, said: "IHS Markit expects Singapore hydrocracking configuration refinery net margin in Q4 2021 to be around US$2 per barrel higher than Q3 2021 which came in at -US$2.2/barrel."

"For refiners, the absolute crude price is not critical, what is critical is the margin," he said. "Higher absolute crude price normally means high demand for both crude oil and refined products and therefore also means refining margins are better."