French Oil Strike Stokes Fears of Fuel Shortages
"There's major refining overcapacity in the O.E.C.D. countries, a problem derived from the economic downturn and the significant decline in demand," said Ricardo Crespo, a refining analyst at the I.E.A. in Paris. "In addition, new projects are starting to come on stream."
New refineries now gearing up include sites in Huelva and Puertollano, Spain; and in Aghii Theodori, Greece.
Those projects were conceived around the middle of the last decade, when prices were climbing - a period that "was referred to as a golden age for refining," said Jonathan Leitch, analyst in London at Wood Mackenzie, an energy consultancy.
Posted: 11:13:25 AM
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