US REFINING Was BIG WEIGH DOWN On FREE CASH FLOW !
Cenovus had a downstream operating margin4 shortfall of $304 million, compared with an operating margin of $922 million in the third quarter. Operating margin in U.S. Refining was impacted by approximately $430 million comprising first-in, first-out (FIFO) losses and a non-cash write-down of refined product and crude oil inventory.
In U.S. Refining, crude throughput was 478,800 bbls/d in the fourth quarter, compared with crude throughput of 555,900 bbls/d in the third quarter. Throughput was reduced primarily due to planned turnaround activity at the non-operated Borger Refinery and an unplanned outage delaying the start-up of the refinery post-turnaround. The Lima Refinery also underwent planned maintenance in the fourth quarter and a temporary unplanned outage. In response to the exceptionally weak refined products pricing environment in December, the company took the opportunity to economically optimize throughput across its refining network.
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