P66 refining margin doubles in Q1 to help reduce expected loss

London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) - US refiner and chemical manufacturer Phillips 66's refining margin doubled in Q1 compared with the prior quarter to $4.36/b, but still registered an overall loss as turnaround costs and higher utility bills resulting from the winter storms pumped up costs, the company said in its Q1 results report Friday.

The loss of $654 million was however smaller than expected from the company's pre-report filing earlier this month, when it advised a likely range of between $865 million and $680 million.

The increase in margin was driven by improved diesel crack spreads and the opportunity to sell electricity into the short Texas market.

Turnaround costs for the quarter were $192 million, up from $76 million in Q4 last year.

Crude utilisation rates were still up at 74% in Q1 from 69% in Q4, although this remained significantly lower than the performance in Q1 2020, when worldwide utilisation was 83%.