A wide range of ever-changing economic and other forces — domestic and international — are constantly impacting the U.S. refinery complex, for good and for bad. Fluctuations in crude oil supply and prices. Ups and downs in demand for refined products. Refinery closures and expansions. And don’t forget this: the pace of the much-discussed transition to lower-carbon energy sources. There’s a lot at play in the world of gasoline, middle distillates and resid — renewable fuels too — and while industry players can’t fully anticipate what’s next in the refined-product roller coaster ahead, it’s critically important to keep up with the latest developments and to have a deep understanding of the many factors influencing crude oil and fuel markets — and the relationships among those drivers. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the key findings in a newly released update to Future of Fuels, an in-depth report by RBN’s Refined Fuels Analytics (RFA) practice on everything you need to know about U.S. and global supply and demand for gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and biofuels over the short, medium and long term.
Warning: Today’s blog is an advertorial for RFA’s newly updated Future of Fuels report. Still, the blog — and the report — delve into topics that are highly relevant for a wide range of energy-industry participants and investors.
Even on the best, most terrifying roller coasters, there are moments of relative calm: a long, level patch or a slow, gentle climb before all hell breaks loose. The refining industry — and the still-nascent market for biofuels — often follow a similar pattern, and right now most market participants are breathing somewhat easily. After all, refining margins, while down from their 2022 and early-2023 highs due to the addition of incremental refining capacity and other factors, are still relatively attractive and — as RFA forecasts in its new report — they are likely to stay well above historical norms in 2024 and 2025. Better yet, as we’ll get to, the ongoing round of capacity additions may well be the last blast of the industry's expansion, and with RFA’s expectation that global demand for refined fuels will remain higher for longer than many others predict, refining margins are likely to re-strengthen in the years ahead and stay robust into the early 2040s — yes, 20 years from now.
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About the song
“Love Rollercoaster” was written by Billy Beck, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marvin Pierce, Clarence Satchell and James Williams (Ohio Players). It appears as the second song on side two of Ohio Players’ seventh studio album, Honey. Released as a single in November 1975, the nearly 5-minute, feel-good slab of funky grooves went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts. The song has been the subject of an urban legend going back to its release date. The rumor was the primal scream heard about a minute and a half into the song was the sound of Honey album cover model Ester Cordet being murdered in the recording studio. (Cordet is still alive today.) In reality it was Ohio Players’ Billy Beck doing the screeching scream on the record. The band wisely took a vow of silence when the rumor started because it helped sell more records. The Red Hot Chili Peppers released a single of the song from the Beavis and Butt-Head Do America: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album in November 1996. It went to #40 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. Personnel on the record were: James Williams (drums, vocals), Billy Beck (keyboards, vocals), Marvin Pierce (trumpet, flugelhorn), Marshall Jones (bass), Leroy Bonner (guitar, vocals), Ralph Middlebrooks (trumpet), and Clarence Satchell (sax, flute).
Honey was recorded between February and June 1975 at Paragon Recording Studios in Chicago, with the production handled by Ohio Players. The album was released in August 1975 and went to #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Three singles were released from the LP.
Ohio Players is an American funk band whose popularity was at its peak in the 1970s. The band was formed in Dayton, OH, in 1959 under the name Ohio Untouchables. They renamed themselves Ohio Players in 1965. They are best known for the hit singles “Fire” and “Love Rollercoaster” and for their erotic album covers featuring nude or scantily clad women — Spinal Tap’s Smell the Glove album cover must have been inspired by Ohio Players. They have released 16 studio albums, one live album, 14 compilation albums and 36 singles. The band was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in 2013. Thirty members have passed through the band since its formation. Clarence Satchell and Ralph Middlebrooks died in 1997, Leroy Bonner in 2013 and Marshall Jones in 2016. Jones was the last surviving member of the original Ohio Untouchables lineup. Ohio Players, with original member Billy Beck, still perform live. It is unknown if Billy replicates the infamous scream of urban legend on “Love Rollercoaster” anymore when performing it live in concert.
