Shell said Wednesday that its refining margins surged 75 percent in the third quarter compared with the second, as the Middle East and Ukraine wars hit supplies. The margins, which reflect the spread between the price of crude oil and the fuels derived from it, reached $42 per barrel in the July-September period, up from $24 per barrel between April and June, the British energy giant said in a trading statement ahead of full third-quarter earnings. According to Bloomberg, that $42 level is far above the previous record set in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB, described the move as an unprecedented widening of the refining spread, with pump prices, particularly for diesel, hitting record highs. While crude oil volumes from the Middle East have recently risen, production and export of refined products in the region remain heavily disrupted, and Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure have prompted Russia to ban exports of certain products, notably gasoline and diesel. Shell's share price was up 0.6 percent in London midday deals, outperforming the FTSE 100 stocks index, which was down 0.6 percent.
Shell plcShell's refining margins hit a record $42/bbl as Middle East and Ukraine war disruptions squeezed refined-product supply.
