TotalEnergies Lifts Refining Margin to $33.20 a Barrel

TotalEnergies reported that its European refining margin climbed to $33.20 a barrel in the third quarter of 2026, nearly triple the $13.50 of the previous quarter and four times the $8.40 of the same period in 2025, according to its results update published on October 15. The company attributed the increase to the international surge in diesel prices and a 10% rise in its processed volume.

The move fits into a global diesel shortage that the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects to extend well into 2027, according to its monthly report released on October 14. The IEA noted that diesel refining margins hit an all-time high of close to $95 a barrel in September, after combined export losses from the Middle East and Russia reached 1.3 million barrels per day. For Mexico the transmission channel is direct: 38% of national diesel consumption was covered by imports during the first half of 2026, and the United States supplies 98% of those foreign purchases.

The spread between a barrel of crude and a barrel of refined product explains the result. TotalEnergies estimated that cash flow from its Refining and Chemicals segment will grow by close to $2,000 million versus the second quarter, and that the average price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) rose 20% over the same span. Shell projects an indicative margin of $42 a barrel for the July-September period, against $24 in the previous quarter, while the stock market value of Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy and Phillips 66 has more than doubled since the start of the crisis, according to The Guardian's analysis.

The pressure on import costs hits a network with a thin cushion: Mexico holds roughly five days of consumption in diesel inventories, according to industry data. TotalEnergies will publish its full third-quarter results on October 29, the same date Shell reports, and the IEA warned that the gasoil imbalance will remain tight in the first half of 2027.

This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.