Europe oil majors back to survival strategies as refining margins dive

London

ENERGY companies' lifeline during the rout in oil prices - refining and downstream - has withered but the fall in margins is hardly a surprise for European refiners, which are turning again to survival strategies honed during the tough years.

Results last week from integrated oil majors including Shell, Total, BP and ENI showed refinery margins crashing by as much as half from last year.

BP's margins were the weakest for a second quarter in six years, while Shell's second-quarter refining and trading earnings plunged more than 60 per cent. Total said its margins…