Covid contribution to refinery shortage?

 Washington Examiner:

President Joe Biden is asking oil refiners to manufacture more fuel and help him tame record gas prices, but the shortage of refining capacity holding them back was years in the making and can't be quickly remedied.

Biden's letters to seven of the nation's largest refinery operators solicited more output from the industry while criticizing refiners for overseeing high profit margins. However, a look at the scale of refinery losses over the past three years, which have been largely driven by the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, regulations, and investor preferences for fossil fuel alternatives, illustrate just why industry leaders are warning there's no easy fix.

OIL TRADE GROUPS REBUT BIDEN REFINERY CLAIMS AND NOTE 'WORLD-LEADING' CAPACITY

At least eight refineries have either closed altogether or converted capacity to manufacturing renewable fuels since 2019, taking around 1.1 million barrels per day of refining capacity offline and driving the current supply-demand imbalance in fuel markets.

Around 800,000 bpd of capacity came offline in 2020 alone, thanks in large part to the demand destruction triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shell shuttered its Convent, Louisiana, refinery in November 2020, which had 240,000 bpd of capacity, citing the financial toll of the pandemic.

Marathon has closed, or converted to renewable fuels manufacturing, facilities that were capable of refining more than 200,000 bpd.

Before the pandemic struck, Pennsylvania Energy Solutions shut down its refinery in Philadelphia after a massive explosion shook the 335,000 bpd facility. The refinery has since been bulldozed.

By the end of next year, even more capacity is scheduled to be taken offline.

Phillips 66 intends to shut down its 44,000 bpd refinery in Santa Maria, California, as it plans to convert its refinery in Rodeo to a renewable fuels facility. The company said in a May 11 announcement that the facility, which now has a capacity to refine 140,000 bpd, is expected to start making renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel in the first quarter of 2024.

If Dutch chemical giant LyondellBasell doesn't find a buyer that's interested in keeping its Houston refinery up and running, refinery capacity will fall by another 268,000 barrels per day.

LyondellBasell announced its intent to close the refinery in April. Interim CEO Ken Lane emphasized at the time that Lyondell's exit would serve its goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

...

I don't think net-zero emissions are a worthy goal if there is no reliable substitute for the lost capacity.  Big Green has not been able to provide that substitute and we should not be closing capacity before a substitute is available. 

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