Refining throughputs at highest in pandemic era: IEA

Refining throughputs at highest in pandemic era: IEA

London, 14 December (Argus) — Global refinery throughputs will exceed 80mn b/d this month for the first time since the start of 2020, the IEA said today. It sees global growth over the coming year focused in China, with OECD countries more or less stagnant.

In its Oil Market Report published today, the agency said it expects average refinery throughputs to be 3.1mn b/d higher this year than in 2020, although this will take them less than halfway back towards the 2019 average. Next year, it forecasts average throughputs to rise by 3.7mn b/d, closing in on pre-pandemic levels.

Recovery in global product demand in the current quarter is outpacing the increase in production, meaning product stocks will be drawn down for a sixth consecutive quarter, it said. The IEA predicts stocks will build again in the first quarter of next year, ahead of the spring maintenance season.