Hi there,

ICYMI, President Biden sent a letter to the CEOs of several U.S. refining companies suggesting refiners aren’t doing our part to lower gas prices for consumers.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. Not only are U.S. refiners operating nearly full-out at 94% of utilization, we’re also producing more fuel than any other country—by far. Our CEO at AFPM—Chet Thompson—and API’s CEO Mike Sommers sent President Biden a letter in response, laying out the facts. Here’s my brief synopsis:

Both crude oil and refined products trade on a global market

Crude oil is and always has been the top contributor to the prices drivers see at the pump. A global imbalance between crude oil supply and demand coming out of the pandemic is at the root of our current price challenges.

U.S. refineries are already operating at or near maximum utilization

In fact, some facilities have made the call to safely delay projects and maintenance in order to stay online and continue producing fuel for the market.

The U.S. has lost significant refining capacity

Since 2020, the world has lost a total of 3.3 million barrels of daily refining capacity. Roughly 1/3 of these losses occurred in the United States, but even with less capacity, U.S. refiners are more than doing our part to produce and supply fuel.

Closed refineries cannot be easily restarted

Lost capacity cannot be restored with the flip of a switch. Explaining this to people has been my passion project of late. More than half of the refining capacity lost in the United States over the past couple years is in the process of being transitioned to full-time renewable fuel production or it’s being dismantled.

Refinery expansions are long-term investments

Refiners do not make major investments based on short-term data. Our industry always takes the long view. Political rhetoric and policies pushing a transition away from American-made liquid fuels are certainly informing business decisions.

So what do we do with this? If President Biden’s letter reveals anything, it’s that a lot of people don’t understand the refining industry. We’re working to correct that, and we hope you will too. Keep an eye out for some specific actions you can take coming soon. As always, you can reply to this email if you have questions or if other resources would be helpful.

Thank you,

Ericka @ EMPOWER