US refining margins ticked up across the nation following a spate of unplanned refining fiascos, the beginning of seasonal turnarounds, and a pick-up in Atlantic Basin storm activity which could threaten US Gulf Coast refinery output, an analysis from S&P Global Commodity Insights showed on Sept. 26. Seasonal turnarounds underway have increased US refinery downtime, exacerbated by unplanned downtime at plants particularly on the US West Coast and Midwest. S&P Global Commodity Insights expect total US refinery runs to drop to 16.19 million b/d for the week ended Sept. 23 from the 16.36 million b/d for the week ended Sept. 16 reported in most recent weekly Energy Information Administration data. “Refinery snags in some areas of the country are contributing to wild fluctuations as areas of the West Coast, Pacific Northwest, Great Lakes and Plains have seen significant refinery issues leading to supply challenges, causing prices to spike even […]