U.S. refiners had a plan for 2020: use their complex operations to maximize profits by making products that would comply with new international laws capping sulfur content in shipping fuels. But after a series of unexpected market moves, heavy, sour crude oil processed by U.S. refiners has become more expensive, eating up hoped-for profit windfalls before they even materialized, forcing refiners to rethink plans to invest more in heavy crude processing units. New regulations by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will require ships globally to use fuels with a sulfur content below 0.5% beginning in 2020. Current shipping fuel is much dirtier, with a higher sulfur content. The move was expected to make heavy crude oil cheap as most refiners worldwide shifted to lighter crudes that yield compliant lower-sulfur fuels – and benefit complex U.S. refiners that possess greater capability to break down that heavy […]