ENERGY
Oil and Gas Downstream
World's Most Productive Companies
Refiners at an Industry Inflection Point
This downstream segment of the oil and gas value chain comprises companies involved in crude oil refining and the marketing and distribution of fuels, lubricants, and petrochemicals to consumers and industrial customers. Facilities include catalytic crackers, alkylation units, and reformers for producing gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and feedstocks. These companies are typically heavily margin-driven, with productivity tied to the “crack spread” (the difference between the cost of crude oil and product prices).
Demand fluctuations have been tied to economic activity and fuel efficiency trends, with the rise of electric vehicles tempering gasoline demand. These high-capital-intensity companies also face stringent environmental and safety regulations aimed at reducing emissions, improving fuel quality, and enhancing refinery safety.
From 2019 to 2024, companies faced extreme conditions, starting with COVID lockdowns, which caused demand to plummet and productivity to be severely impacted by reduced rates. Demand surge in a tight global market (intensified by refinery closures and the dislocation of Russian oil flows due to sanctions) by late 2021 into 2022, resulting in record high margins. High crude prices in 2022, combined with refiners' focus on processing advantaged crude slates and integrating biofuels, led to a productivity rebound into 2024.
Top 100 World's Most Productive Companies - Oil and Gas Downstream
Productivity Snapshot
Productivity trends across this peer group are closely aligned, with every company having faced significant challenges as productivity declined from 2020 to 2022. This is one of the few energy segments with a clear productivity gain last year, as companies weathered the downturn with leaner operations to reap efficiency benefits in the upcycle, achieving an impressive 13.2% productivity improvement in 2024.
- From 2019 to 2024, productivity declined about 8.6% overall as working capital and energy costs for refineries increased.
- COVID shock contributed to an enormous 52% productivity collapse in 2020–2022.
- Companies saw a strong rebound with productivity growing 45.7% from 2022 to 2024, due to surging demand and refineries focused on optimizing and maximizing throughput, energy efficiency improvements, and opportunistic maintenance shutdowns (turnaround).
- Valero Energy Corp earned its position within the LNS 2025 World’s Most Productive Companies by achieving 11% productivity growth from 2021 to 2024. While all companies have faced high volatility, Valero has been relentlessly focused on refining and optimizing its operations and feedstock flexibility, which has limited its productivity decline to 6.1% over the last six years, compared to the 8.6% average across this peer group from 2019 to 2024. Valero’s investments in digital twins and advanced process control systems have enabled the company to squeeze out productivity gains even during downturns.
