Caribbean Refinery Closures Offset by Sagging Demand

During the first quarter of 2012, the dual closure of Valero’s 235 kbpd Aruba refinery and the remaining 350 kbpd of capacity at Hovensa’s St. Croix facility offered the potential that the loss of this Caribbean refining capacity would provide a boost to product tanker demand. Long a source of clean product imports to the USAC, the loss of this short-haul supply would require imports from longer-haul locations for a region shedding its own refining capacity, so the hypothesis went. Although tonne-miles have risen sequentially, the continuing US product demand malaise has muted the effect. Download here