Oil: Refineries
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the oral contribution of Baron Wilson of Sedgefield in the House of Lords on 3 July 2025, Official Report, column 867, what plans he has to take up internationally fuel refining industry margins.
Answered by Michael Shanks
Refining margins differ from site to site and are driven by the prices of the crude oils each refinery buys and of the products that they produce. These prices are largely set by international traded markets.
The Government is determined to work with industry, workers and trade unions to ensure our UK refineries can compete in this international context. That is why, in less than 12 months in office, we have invested in carbon capture, usage and storage, which can help key refineries, such as Phillips 66 and Stanlow, through Viking and HyNet; and we are driving forward with the sustainable aviation fuel mandate, to help the refining sector maximise the opportunities created by the clean energy revolution.
We are also reviewing the methodology for the energy-intensive industries compensation scheme, to help assess whether sectors such as this should be covered in the future, and whether more can be done to help their competitiveness.
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