re: How many here make their living in the oil field?

This isn't hitting the refineries b/c of the price per barrel it's more tied to having excess inventories due to a mild winter. NG companies saw the same thing a couple of years ago.

The article also references the big oil conglomerates whose profits typically come from the upstream side of the business. The point of the article is the excess inventory is another blow to the majors bottomline since the refineries are their "safety" net.

The independent refiners such as Marathon or Valero, aren't tied to the upstream side of the business are doing quite well right now b/c the frac spread. They are able to buy up a surplus of cheap domestically produced crude and sell at global price for refined products. Now that export ban on crude has been lifted this advantage for local refineries will slowly go away.

Refineries have always operated on pretty thin margins. The politicians and the media have us believe that the record profits are posted by oil companies were b/c we are being gouged at the pumps when in actuality during these times the refineries margins are getting squeezed and the profits are coming from the upstream side of the business.