The European Refining Crisis: What is at stake for Europe? Actuelles de l'Ifri, March 2013
The European Refining sector is in crisis. The wave of refineries closures has spared no EU Member States.
In less than five years, eleven refineries were simply shut down and no less than seventeen changed their ownership in the UK, in France, in Germany, in the Netherlands, in Sweden or in Spain. As closure is a last resort measure, given its high costs, this gives an indication of the situation’s seriousness.
The present situation reflects more than just the widespread effects of the economic crisis. If the sector has always been known as cyclical, the change however comes from the shift in demand and trade patterns for oil products. In the ongoing globalization of the oil market products, Europe appears to be the most vulnerable piece and this raises questions as regard the European security of oil product supplies.