Citgo Petroleum's Profit Falls on Weak Refining Margins

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): Venezuela-owned Citgo Petroleum joined other refiners in posting a sharp drop in third-quarter profit on Thursday, weighed down by a fall in refining margins.

Global oil refiners have seen their profit retreat this year from the post-pandemic peaks, largely due to a demand slowdown, especially in China.

In the United States, where demand has lagged expectations, the 3-2-1 crack spread , an industry metric used to assess refiners' margins on both gasoline and diesel put together, averaged $20.18 in the July-September period, down nearly 35% from last year.

The seventh-largest U.S. refiner said its net income fell to $66 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with $567 million a year earlier.

Houston-based Citgo is the centerpiece in a U.S. District Court in Delaware's auction seeking to satisfy $21 billion in claims against Venezuela for defaults and expropriations.

Last week, the United States extended a license protecting Citgo from bondholders to March 2025.

Citgo's total throughput for the third quarter rose by 9,000 barrels per day over the year earlier to 811,000 bpd.

"After successfully completing our planned turnaround activities this year, we were able to capture available margins in a challenging pricing environment with strong reliability and higher throughput," said Citgo CEO Carlos Jorda.

The company said its average crude utilization rate rose slightly to 96% during the period.

Its total liquidity at the end of the quarter was $3.6 billion.

Courtesy: www.reuters.com