Refinery crack spreads, an approximate measure of the profitability of refining a barrel of crude oil into refined products such as gasoline and diesel, have soared in recent weeks to reach their highest levels since early 2024. As discussed in RBN’s TradeView report, the diesel and 3-2-1 crack spreads late last week reached their highest point since mid-February 2024 in the case of the diesel crack (orange line and arrow for comparison in chart below) and since late March 2024 in the case of the 3-2-1 crack (green line and arrow). In contrast, the gasoline crack reached its highest level since mid-September 2025 (blue line and arrow).
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- Blog
When I Need You – Europe Likely to Remain a Key Outlet for U.S. LNG as Exports Accelerate
Buoyed by record-level feedgas demand and several planned export terminals reaching important development milestones, 2025 was a banner year for U.S. LNG. Today, we’ll examine some of the sector’s near-term challenges and look at where demand could increase in the long term.
- Blog
Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad – U.S. and European Refineries Thriving So Far, But Asian Ones Suffer
It’s been eight weeks since the steady flow of crude oil and refined product tankers out of the Persian Gulf ended, and the impacts on refineries and product suppliers in key parts of the world are becoming clearer. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the state of refining in the U.S., Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
- Blog
Double-Edged Sword – Refinery ‘Capacity Creep,’ Falling Inventories May Limit U.S. Crude Export Surge
U.S. crude oil production averaged a record 13.6 MMb/d in 2025, up nearly 1.6 MMb/d from 2023, but crude export volumes remained remarkably stable — at or very near 4.1 MMb/d — until a recent Iran-related surge. A key reason: “capacity creep” expansion projects at several Gulf Coast refineries.
