Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing
Known as the "downstream" sector, these companies refine crude oil into usable products like gasoline and diesel and handle the retail distribution to end consumers.
Why it exists
Refining transforms crude oil into usable fuels and branded products for consumers and industry.
Why it’s necessary
Crude oil is unusable in raw form. Refining is the conversion step that enables transportation, heating, and countless industrial uses.
Key components
Refineries and cracking units
Blending systems
Fuel terminals
Branded retail fuel networks
How to evaluate businesses
Watch crack spreads, refinery complexity, utilization rates, regulatory exposure, and geographic fuel demand. Downstream margins are volatile, and weak operators get crushed during oversupply.
How the industry could be improved
Cleaner fuel blending, flexible biorefining capacity, AI-driven feedstock selection, predictive maintenance shutdown planning, and smarter retail pricing models.