Are gasoline refiners owned and operated by the oil companies (Exxon, Shell, Chevron, etc)?

From a Mar 9 Reuters article about gas prices, an oil industry analyst was quoted as saying, ';... refiner profit margins have become so slim that they will now raise prices to recover their lost margins.'; Oil companies have reported record profits over the last few years. Are gas refiners owned by the major oil companies or are they completely separate? If they are owned by the oil companies, how can these companies report record profits and yet still squeak out a profit with $100+/brl when refining gas? Please forgive my ignorance as I really don't understand this industry, but it sure gets my attention when I pay $50 to fill up my car. Thanks in advance for any replies.Are gasoline refiners owned and operated by the oil companies (Exxon, Shell, Chevron, etc)?
Indeed, all three of these are what are called ';integrated'; oil and gas companies, not only producing upstream products (oil, gas, natural gas liquids) but also downstream products (gasoline, diesel, fuel oil) The firm not only refines (produces end product) but markets (gets the $50 to fill your tank!)





But gasoline is also a wholesale market. Other refiners exist that do not have upstream (exploration and production ) capabilities. Many oil and gas companies have no refining capacity.





For example, in the case of Exxon quoting from their 10-K:





ExxonMobil has an ownership interest in 38 refineries, located in 21 countries, with distillation capacity of 6.3 million barrels per day and lubricant base stock manufacturing capacity of about 140 thousand barrels per day.


ExxonMobil鈥檚 fuels and lubes marketing business portfolios include operations around the world, serving a globally diverse customer base.





Hope that helps!Are gasoline refiners owned and operated by the oil companies (Exxon, Shell, Chevron, etc)?
Not always... some of the bigger oil companies buy from smaller refiners to make up for what they can not produce. Have you seen gas stations that don't have a name brand on them? These stations by from the smaller refiners also.

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