OPEC’s failure to address oil’s slide to near $70 a barrel by refraining to cut its output target threatens profits at Asian refiners that filled inventories at higher prices. Brent crude plunged the most in three years yesterday after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it will keep its collective production at 30 million barrels a day. South Korean refiner SK Innovation Co. (096770) predicted its fourth-quarter earnings will be hurt as a 38 percent fall in prices since a June peak widens losses from stockpiles. While a fall in crude cuts raw material costs for refiners, the benefits are limited because they have to account for oil accumulated when the market was higher. OPEC’s decision not to reduce output creates potential for further declines in prices, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “The operating environment for the country’s refining industry is expected to worsen in the short-term,” […]