sparky wrote:.
Agree , exporting raw resources is a mug game , the processing is where the value is
According to the EIA, the global crack spread (the difference between petroleum product prices and crude oil prices) was below $2/bbl in 2014 and over $6 in 2015, with US refineries doing better than the global average ($7 and $9, respectively, but also made only $2 in 2009). European refiners even *lost* $2/bbl in 2014.
Even though refinery profits appear to be higher when oil is cheap and vice versa, it still doesn't look like a license to print money. I guess it depends on whether you are an integrated company, refining your own oil, then you can partly offset lower revenue from selling oil through higher refinery earnings. But mostly I think it depends on size. Small refineries are going out of business.