Renewable Transition Bites EXXON In Norway

By Ian Page – 2022.01.07

https://cleantechnica.com/2022/01/05/exxon-refinery-in-norway-closes-down/

In two years (with strong government action) Norway has increased from 50% EVs to nearly 90% EV's.

EXXON has decided to close its refinery, due to lack of demand for oil, and it's the 5th to close in Europe since covid.

During Covid, EVs have been the only growth market for cars in Europe generally. I'm not sure there is any relationship between the two since people were travelling less, which shifts the cost balance towards ICE's!

Closing refineries is a very significant signal. They are built in the expectation that they will run for 50 years and are a major investment in ports and infrastructure. It's also not easy to start a new one as they have multiple environmental aspects and are usually grandfathered in some way by regulators to minimize the impact of these on local employment taxes 

This also suggests that oil companies are moving into the dreaded inverse of economies of scale, the larger proportion of fixed costs as volumes decrease leading to reduced profits and less investment money.


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