Industry: Refining & fuels

Global progress in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) continued in June 2025, supported by new airline agreements, refinery projects, and government initiatives across major markets. Airlines such as Lufthansa Group, ATR, and British Airways expanded SAF adoption through new partnerships, while Neste and Phillips 66 secured supply deals to strengthen distribution networks in the U.S. The […]

Last week, I attended the 2025 Reuters Downstream USA conference, where a central theme resonated deeply across discussions: the critical importance of reliability in the refining and chemicals sectors. While chemical engineers often define reliability as a system’s probability of functioning without failure for a set time under given conditions, its broader, transformative impact on […]

The oil & gas and chemical industries are at an inflection point. For years, growth was a given, but a new era, one characterized by a structural decline in capital and operational spending, is starting to take shape. Recent trends of slowing oil demand growth, oversupplied markets, and shrinking chemical margins as shown in exhibit […]

The U.S. biofuels industry has experienced rapid growth in renewable diesel (RD) production since 2021, while SAF production has also accelerated, with capacity nearly tripling between 2023 and 2024 as new facilities came online. The surge in RD and SAF capacity (see Exhibit 1) was driven primarily by policies such as the Blender’s Tax Credit […]

Natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), once touted as a bridge fuel to a low-carbon renewable energy-powered future, are now increasingly seen as a permanently central part of the evolving global energy landscape. Factors such as explosive growth in AI and data centers in the U.S. and elsewhere, energy security concerns in Europe and […]

The U.S. SAF industry has faced significant uncertainty recently, with questions surrounding how government support, feedstock eligibility, and financial incentives might evolve during President Trump’s second administration. Our recent blog, “The Future of SAF Under Trump: Will Biofuels Thrive or Stall?” highlighted these concerns and emphasized the potential impacts on SAF investments and production strategies. The recent […]

In the April 2025 edition of the ADI newsletter, we discussed how the Russian refining industry has undergone substantial transformation. Simultaneously, the oil and gas midstream sector faces pressure to cut methane emissions. In the U.S., the new 45Z policy is reshaping SAF with shifting incentives. Lastly, data center energy demands are spurring investment in […]

In the March 2025 edition of the ADI newsletter, we covered how refineries are under pressure to decarbonize. Despite a slowdown, shale consolidation was expected to attract investment, and the Middle East was experiencing a gas boom to meet rising demand. Additionally, the global chemical industry was projected to rebound in 2025, driven by specialty […]

The refining industry faced another challenging year in 2024, with crack spreads plummeting due to weak demand for petroleum products and rising global refining capacity. As we look ahead to 2025, refiners will likely encounter another difficult year with sluggish demand, tight margins, and potential supply disruptions amid ongoing geopolitical tensions. Key trends to watch […]

Resilience through innovation and strategic restructuring is laying the groundwork for a recovery in the chemicals industry. As companies pivot toward high-growth markets and adapt to global challenges, 2025 is expected to bring renewed optimism. Key trends to watch in 2025 include: The rest of this article is available to ADI Plus Essential subscribers. ADI […]

Russia has historically been a major player in the global oil market, not only as a leading crude oil exporter but also as a significant supplier of refined oil products. For years, it has been a key source of diesel, fuel oil, and other refined oil products for Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC) including China, and CIS […]

At the 2025 ADI Forum, James Seaba, Program Director, ARPA-E, and Matthew Seabaugh, Founder, HeatPath Solutions, joined moderator Uday Turaga, CEO, ADI Analytics for the energy transition infrastructure panel. Key topics include the fragmentation of energy value chains due to diverse clean energy investments. The future of refining infrastructure faces challenges from declining fuel demand, […]