Energy / Oil & Gas
Global refinery runs fell 6% in second quarter amid Mideast conflict
EIA, citing Kpler data, says throughput partly recovered in the third quarter.
Status: source-checked.
Global crude oil refinery inputs fell by 4.8 million barrels a day, or 6%, in the second quarter of 2026 after conflict began in the Middle East in late February, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Nov. 3, citing Kpler data.
The decline reversed the usual seasonal pattern. Refineries typically increase crude processing in the second and third quarters after planned maintenance and before peak demand for fuels such as gasoline and jet fuel, the EIA said. Inputs had risen by 300,000 barrels a day in the second quarter of 2025.
China’s refinery inputs fell by 2.1 million barrels a day in the second quarter and another 800,000 in the third, the agency reported. It said reduced crude supply also affected refiners in India, South Korea and Japan.
In the Middle East, constrained exports through the Strait of Hormuz limited refinery operations, according to the EIA. Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates each cut crude inputs by 700,000 barrels a day in the second quarter; Saudi Arabia and Iran also recorded declines, the agency said.
Global inputs recovered by 1.8 million barrels a day in the third quarter as refiners adjusted to new trade routes and supplies, but remained about 5% below the same period in 2025, the EIA reported. The figures describe past quarters, not current daily operations; the underlying Kpler dataset was not independently reviewed.
What we know / what we don't
What we know
- EIA reported a 4.8 million b/d drop in 2Q26 and a 1.8 million b/d rebound in 3Q26.
What we don't know
- The Kpler dataset was not independently reviewed.
The source record