Refiner margins unable to fully offset low upstream earnings for integrated oil companies

First-quarter 2015 financial results for globally integrated oil companies show that total earnings were $22 billion (54%) lower than first-quarter 2014. Lower crude oil prices contributed to a decline in profits in the upstream sector of $28 billion (80%) compared to first-quarter 2014. Profits in the downstream sector, however, were the largest for any quarter since third-quarter 2012, almost $6 billion (95%) higher than in first-quarter 2014, which offset some of the decline from the upstream segment More »