Refineries’ Output Seen Sluggish This Summer

Continued sluggish oil refinery capacity may keep gasoline prices — and oil company profits — high this summer, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Refineries usually shut down for a period of cleaning and maintenance in the spring, but this year, that has pushed into summer, the paper reported.

Summer shutdown coincide with the peak demand for gasoline, the so-called “summer driving season” from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

In recent weekly inventory reports issued by the Energy Department, the rate of refinery output has routinely been at or below 90%, when it is usually in the mid-90 percentile range, Bloomberg has reported.

Oil companies have cited everything from aging equipment to a shortage of skilled labor as reasons for the downturns, the Journal said.