Alan Gelder, Vice President of Refining, Chemicals & Oil Markets with Wood Mackenzie Ltd. joins the Foundation in this podcast interview, to delve into refineries. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a reduction in demand for crude oil. However, what is less spoken about is how that reduction affects the chain of actors in the oil production process. 

Practically all crude oil is refined into final products for consumers, and the demands for final products such as gasoline, kerosene, gas oils, and diesel have all been differently affected by the pandemic. This has caused numerous challenges for all refiners, and while most refiners have some flexibility as to what the mix of products they produce, they are not immune to demand reduction. 

How will refiners, therefore, cope with the large changes in demand? Will some refiners collapse soon, or at all? And how will they manage in the long term as the world moves towards “A New Normal”.