HF Sinclair Sees Lower Q4 Runs on El Dorado


   
Daniel Rodriguez Huerta
DTN Refined Fuels Market Reporter

   CALGARY, CANADA (DTN) - Dallas-based HF Sinclair expects to run 
560,000-600,000 bpd of crude in the fourth quarter of 2026, a range that 
reflects the planned turnaround at its 135,000 bpd El Dorado refinery in El 
Dorado, Kansas.

   The midpoint for the projected runs will be 5.54% below the third-quarter 
processing volume of 614,000 bpd - which was already down 3.91% from the 
639,000 bpd in the third quarter of 2025, the company noted on its earnings 
call Wednesday (10/28). The company's total crude refining capacity stands at 
approximately 678,000 bpd. 

   Company President Steve Ledbetter said about 4 million bpd of refining 
production was offline, with 2.5 million bpd of that being in the Middle East 
and the balance 1.5 million bpd in Russia. Clean fuel inventories were also at 
all-time lows, he added.

   Western Canadian Select differentials have ranged between $25 bbl to $30 
bbl, Ledbetter noted, saying differentials were expected to remain wide through 
at least 2027.

   HF Sinclair executives also reported that:

Branded fuel sales rose 16.67% to 10.00 million bbl from 8.57 million bbl in 
the third quarter of 2025. As the marketing business grows, the company is 
moving its lowest-valued barrels out of bulk and unbranded sales.HF Sinclair 
moved the final investment decision on the 35,000 bpd first phase of its 
Westline Connect pipeline to the first quarter of 2027, weighting route and 
scope options to move Rockies product into Utah and Nevada. The company aims to 
have it online in 2029.HF Sinclair is participating as an equity partner in the 
230,000 bpd Western Gateway pipeline along Kinder Morgan and Phillips 66, 
linking its El Dorado, 125,000 bpd Tulsa and 100,000 bpd Artesia refineries to 
Southwest markets.HF Sinclair sees a possible E15 shift in the Midwest, demand 
moving west and the Southwest as a key market, adding that its stake in Western 
Gateway "somewhat backstops" product placement.Renewables sales volumes rose 
10.53% to 1.50 million bbl from 1.36 million bbl in the third quarter of 2025. 
Renewable diesel utilization was 72% excluding the Cheyenne turnaround, and 
more than half of sales were outside California.


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