石油设备网讯 据路透社纽约报道，根据分析师的说法，美国独立炼油商在经历了一连串的停产、汽油利润率疲软和加拿大石油价格飙升之后，预计第一季度的利润将低于预期。
主要的独立精炼商在本季度大幅减产，在汽油利润率暴跌之际，一些企业选择对设备进行维修，而不是生产石油。
根据Refinitiv Eikon的智能模型（该模型对高级别分析师最近的修订进行了评估），包括Valero能源公司、HollyFrontier公司和马拉松石油公司在内的几家美国大型炼油企业在报告结果时，预期都达不到最初的估算。
然而，由于关键的夏季即将来临，今年上半年炼油产量的下降使得该行业可能出现反弹。由于汽油库存季节性处于四年来的最低水平，预计在强劲的季节，利润率有所反弹。
4月初，美国炼油厂的利用率降至87.5%，为2014年以来的最低季节性水平。2018年的大部分时间里，由于对馏分油的强劲需求，炼油厂一直在全力运转。但在这个过程中，他们生产了过多的汽油，导致燃料的利润被冲掉了。
这些利润率在1月跌至每加仑3.64 美元，是自2009年以来的最低水平，不过，自那时以来，利润已有所回升，随着库存从1月中旬的近2.6亿桶降至2.28亿桶左右，本周一的利润回升到每加仑23美元左右。
詹晓晶摘自路透社
原文如下：
Weak first quarter seen for U.S. refiners, but brighter summer expected
U.S. independent refiners are expected to roll out lower than expected first-quarter profits after a spate of outages, weak gasoline margins and a surge in the price of Canadian oil, according to analysts.
Major independent refiners cut production dramatically during the quarter, with some electing to undergo maintenance rather than produce barrels at a time when gasoline margins slumped.
Several major U.S. refiners, including Valero Energy Corp, HollyFrontier Corp, and Marathon Petroleum Corp, are all expected to fall short of consensus estimates when they report results, according to Refinitiv Eikon’s SmartEstimate model, which values more recent revisions from higher-ranked analysts.
However, reduced refining output in the early part of the year sets up the industry for a potential rebound as the critical summer months approach. With gasoline stockpiles at a four-year low on a seasonal basis, margins have rebounded in anticipation of driving season.
U.S. refinery utilization dropped to 87.5 percent in early April, the lowest seasonally since 2014. Refiners had been running full-tilt for much of 2018, encouraged by strong demand for distillates. But in the process, they overproduced gasoline, tanking margins for the fuel along the way.
Those margins fell to $3.64 a gallon in January, the lowest since 2009. They have since recovered, and were at about $23.00 a gallon on Monday, as inventories have fallen to about 228 million barrels from almost 260 million barrels in mid-January.
