Refinery Turnarounds Hit Eight-Year Low as Market Conditions, Strikes Push Out Activity

SUGAR LAND--April 7, 2015--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Anyone keeping an eye on the plunge in oil prices won't be surprised to learn that 2015 is seeing a dramatic dip in the number of maintenance turnarounds at North American petroleum refineries. Lower prices mean lower (and sometimes negative) profits for producers, who are responding by cutting expenditures and moving out their budgets. Those involved in both the upstream and downstream sides of the business--like BP plc (NYSE:BP) (London, England) and Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (The Hague, Netherlands)--are spending less on turnarounds as a result. But another factor emerged earlier this year that made 2015 an even weaker year for turnarounds: labor strikes at major facilities, particularly along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Other companies featured: Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC), BP plc (NYSE:BP), LyondellBasell (NYSE:LYB)