Major oil firms signal refining constraints will sustain high fuel costs despite crude price fluctuations, tightening global supply.
Shell, ExxonMobil, and Chevron have warned that global fuel stocks are critically low, pushing pump prices higher regardless of crude oil trends. Exxon’s CFO Neil Hansen identified refining capacity as the primary bottleneck in the energy system, a constraint analysts say is worsening supply tightness.
Refining margins have surged in recent months, outpacing crude price movements as demand outstrips available processing capacity. Industry data shows global refining utilization rates near multi-year highs, with limited new capacity coming online in the near term.
Markets have yet to fully price in the structural supply gap, with futures curves reflecting expectations of sustained upward pressure on gasoline and diesel prices. The warnings contrast with earlier forecasts of easing fuel costs as crude prices stabilized.