Global refining crunch to keep fuel prices high into 2027

The world is facing a shortage of refining capacity that could keep petrol, diesel and jet fuel prices elevated well into 2027, even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens and millions of barrels of crude stranded by the war return to the market. Damage to refineries in the Gulf and Russia, coupled with limited spare capacity elsewhere, has left too little infrastructure to turn crude into the fuels the world needs, creating an unusual divergence between prices for crude and refined products. There will be “a steep, steep fall” in the first quarter of 2027, said Nikhil Agarwal, managing director…