Ampol Refining Margin Up 125% Year on Year; Q4 Fuel Production Forecast Lowered

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 19, Australian fuel supplier Ampol released its Q3 2026 operational report. The quarterly refining margin at its Lytton refinery reached US$23.92 per barrel, up 125% from US$10.64 in the same period last year. Affected by planned maintenance, the refinery's quarterly throughput was 1.137 billion liters, down 9.2% year on year. The company also revised its Q4 production forecast, expecting output of high-value products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to be about 150 million liters lower than previously forecast.

The Lytton refinery is carrying out planned shutdown maintenance and equipment inspections. During inspection of the fluid catalytic cracking unit, Ampol found that additional repairs were needed to the reactor's refractory lining and decided to bring forward part of the maintenance work on a crude processing unit. Under the revised maintenance schedule, the catalytic cracking unit is expected to restart in mid-November. The company expects the additional maintenance will not affect fuel supply to customers.

The higher refining margin was mainly driven by rising regional refined product processing margins, but higher crude delivered premiums and the shutdown maintenance offset some of the gains. Ampol said geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and constrained fuel supply remain favorable to its integrated fuel supply chain. The company's Q3 replacement cost operating profit (RCOP EBIT) was above the quarterly average for the second half of 2025, with fuel supply optimization and profit growth in the convenience retail business also contributing to operating performance.

Ampol also adjusted the commissioning time of the Lytton refinery's ultra-low sulfur fuel project to the first quarter of 2027. The company expects the timing adjustment will not have a material impact on earnings, and its group capital expenditure forecast remains unchanged.

In Q3, Ampol Group's total fuel sales reached 6.245 billion liters, up 3.6% year on year. Of this, Australian operations sold 3.551 billion liters, down 2.3% year on year; international operations sold 1.841 billion liters, up 23% year on year. For the first nine months of the period, the group's cumulative sales reached 18.546 billion liters, up 0.4% year on year.