The downstream sector of the oil and gas market may be facing challenging times ahead as the demand picture for refined products such as diesel, gasoline, and petrochemicals is expected to shift, and as heavy crude oil supplies shrinks. The downstream sector in the oil industry, for those not in the know, include all the last-stage operations of the entire oil process—namely refineries and distributors, or generally speaking, anything post-pumping. While the downstream oil sector may be more insulated than the upstream sector (drilling, exploring) from the volatile prices that have plagued the industry as of late, it does face new challenges in the volatile crack spread and shifting landscape that has prompted refineries to adapt to survive. Unlike the upstream sector, the downstream sector derives profit from the spread between the price of crude oil and the price of the end product—such as gasoline—also known as the crack […]