2024 AFPM Summit
The Summit delivers world-class technical sessions dedicated to improving plant-wide performance in the refining and petrochemical industries.
What’s New
Do refineries set the price of gasoline?
It is a common misconception that refiners set the price of gasoline. But, in fact, refiners are price takers—not price makers.
Why California’s refinery inventory mandate is a bad idea
We get it. If supply and demand are what determine gasoline prices, you would think mandatory storage of even more gasoline in California might help to keep prices lower for consumers. But it’s not that simple. In fact, mandating that refiners keep significant volumes of gasoline in inventory ALL THE TIME is a recipe to raise everyday fuel costs in the California market and potentially reduce supplies of fuel available to Arizona and Nevada. And what’s worse, there’s no evidence that having more fuel in inventory would stop the occurrence of price jumps.
Issues and Policies
18.6 million
U.S. refining increased to more than 18.6 million barrels per day, almost 20% of global capacity.
$185 billion
Petrochemical manufacturers have invested $185 billion to expand operations to meet growing demand.