OK, don't have much time so apologies for being blunt: you folks need to get your heads out of your asses and do some Internet research instead of listening to the bullshit here about the refinery industry losing $billions.
First, a general rule that seldom fails: the lower the price of oil the better margins refineries make. For instance the full throughput margin for Valero (one of the country's largest is $8+/bbl. And that's actual down some from a year ago. Some more derails from:
http://marketrealist.com/2017/04/valero ... n-expands/Valero's 1Q17 Earnings Beat Estimates, Refining Margin Expands1Q17, VLO’s revenue surpassed Wall Street analysts’ consensus estimate by ~17%. Additionally, VLO reported EPS (earnings per share) of $0.68, 13% higher than its estimated EPS of $0.60. The company’s 1Q17 EPS were also 13% higher than its 1Q16 adjusted EPS. VLO’s refining margins rose YoY (year-over-year) in 1Q17.g
Want more details go find my post from yesterday. See how Warren Buffet has taken a big position in Phillips, the largest US refiner. Read how US refineries (which export more refinery products then any country) is beating the crap out of foreign competition. Read how the refining business is looking so good that within just a 15 mile radius from where I'm typing there has been $50+ BILLION worth of refining expansion started within the last 2 years. And yes: some US consumption of refinery products have not recovered. Which is why output has stayed high and profitable since US refineries are exporting products made from 4.8 million bopd. Got that: more then 25% of US oil "consumption" includes the oil products we export. And why? Because US refineries are making a sh*tload of money doing so.