Low crude prices and strong demand for gasoline are creating near-perfect conditions for oil refineries across the United States, especially those geared towards maximising gasoline production. Valero, the country’s largest independent refiner, made a gross margin of more than $13 on every barrel of oil processed in the second quarter, and a net margin of almost $8.50, both the highest since 2007. Little wonder then that Valero’s share price has climbed to the highest level since December 2007. The enormous profitability of turning crude into gasoline has incentivized refiners to run flat out since the start of the year. The volume of crude processed by U.S. refineries last week hit a record 17.1 million barrels per day (bpd), 680,000 bpd above the prior-year level and […]