Motor Oil Hellas SA, the second-largest Greek refiner, expects that profits from processing a barrel of oil into fuels such as diesel will increase as early as the end of this year, as demand recovers. “We’ll have some recovery in demand” around the end of the year, Petros Tzannetakis, Motor Oil’s chief financial officer, said in an interview in London yesterday.
The refiner is currently making $6 to $7 a barrel from processing oil into fuels, higher than the industry benchmark, he said. Weak demand this year for fuels, especially diesel, had cut refiner margins leading to run cuts, temporary closures and plants being put up for sale. Margins dropped to $3.52 a barrel from July 1 to September 24, according to data by BP Plc.
That compares with $8 a barrel in the third quarter of last year. Motor Oil’s 120,000-barrel-a-day refinery in the province of Corinth, 70 kilometers (44 miles) outside Athens, is running at full operating rates, Tzannetakis said. The Athens-based company is building a 60,000-barrel-a-day crude unit which is due to start operations next year.
(ΚΑΤΗΙΜΕRINI, 03-04/10/2009)