PetroCast Live Expands Global Coverage of Petroleum Refining Capacity as Crude and Refined Prices Soar

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Strong economic growth in China and India, and the continued recovery of the U.S. economy, has pushed prices for crude oil and refined products to near-record levels at the start of 2011. To help those who trade in refined petroleum products, IIR Energy has significantly expanded its coverage of global petroleum refining capacity.

"The market is signaling $100 per barrel for crude oil, and $4 per gallon for gasoline in certain U.S. markets," said Paul Copello, a director at IIR Energy, headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas. "In a rising-price environment, quality information is the difference between booking a profit and getting hammered in the market."

PetroCast Live has made major additions to its coverage of European and Asian refineries in recent months, and that market-leading service will continue expanding its refinery coverage throughout 2011, Copello said. "Right now our research covers about 58.3 million barrels per day (BBL/d) of global refining capacity. By the third quarter of 2011, we will add an additional 19.7 million BBL/d of refining capacity, mainly located in Asia the Middle East." In early 2012, an additional 10.4 million BBL/d of refining capacity--located in the Russian Federation, Eastern Europe, Africa and Central Asia--will be added to PetroCast Live's global coverage of the refining industry."

Click on the icon at right to see PetroCast Live's current coverage of global refining capacity.

"The ongoing expansion of PetroCast Live's refinery coverage will inject greater supply-side transparency in the global crude and refined products markets, which will enable integrated oil companies, energy traders, petroleum refiners and financial service companies to execute better-informed trades," Copello said.

Petroleum refining is a global market that is becoming more dynamic every day, Copello continued. Tens of billions of dollars of physical and financial transactions are executed every day. "Because there is virtually no slack in the system, the loss of a single processing unit at a refinery can impact the supply and price of refined products in nearby markets, as well as those located some distance away," the IIR director said.

By providing a continually updated snapshot of the petroleum market, PetroCast Live helps market participants more effectively manage risks, track supplies of crude and refined products, and implement profitable trading strategies.

"The global petroleum market is becoming more efficient every day, leading to declining spreads between physical and financial transactions," said Copello. "Better-quality information is squeezing inefficiency out of the system. Timely market intelligence is the difference between success and failure in petroleum markets."

Like all IIR services, PetroCast Live is updated continuously by hundreds of researchers working on five continents around the world. Each day IIR researchers update the company's market data with change reporting, refinery outages, breaking news and other critical market developments that enable market participants to more effectively engage in trading or negotiate supply deals.

The frequency with which Industrial Info verifies its market intelligence, coupled with its other quality-assurance and data-integrity principles, is called the Living Forward Reporting Principle™. This principle ensures that Industrial Info provides the most accurate and timely market intelligence on industrial-activity spending around the world.

The Living Forward Reporting Principle™ provides IIR Energy's clients with an important edge in the market, Copello said. "It differentiates IIR Energy from other information suppliers in the market. Because today's petroleum markets wait for no one, we have enhanced the coverage of PetroCast Live so that our customers have the best, most timely market intelligence on which to base their activities."

Click here for an overview of IIR Energy's PetroCast Live service. Private demonstrations of this service can be arranged by contacting IIR Energy at energygroup@iirenergy.com, or by calling 1-800-762-3361 and asking for the IIR Energy Group.

A unit of Industrial Info Resources, IIR Energy is the leading provider of supply-side market intelligence for the energy market, including Electric Power Generation; Oil & Gas Storage, Transmission and Production; Alternative Fuels such as biodiesel, ethanol, and coal gasification; and the Petroleum Refining industries. IIR Energy provides time-sensitive, critical market information that enables asset owners, developers, regulators, as well as financial & physical participants to enhance their trading strategies and minimize market risk.