ABSTRACT
The demise of the independent oil refiner has gone largely unnoticed amid the clamor over energy security, oil prices, search for new sources of crude, Middle East political crises, and the larger issues facing the world. The oil industry must obey major environmental regulations that have added and will continue to add tremendous costs to refining. On major environment-related issue, the federal government has imposed and proposed stringent regulations on the content of petroleum products that can be sold in the United States. Many independent refiners have been unable to gain access to competitively priced crude oil, especially from foreign sources. The lack of sophistication of the independent refineries precluded them from processing different types of crude and refining them into products to meet market needs. The major integrated independents and majors, meanwhile, can raise capital by selling more stock, turning to the capital markets, or forming joint ventures.
