Refining Engineer New Grad

Phillips 66 is approaching its cost reduction target of $5.50 per barrel by 2027, with second quarter 2026 costs already at $5.57 per barrel. The company has implemented more than 200 initiatives to reduce refining adjusted controllable costs. The stock has surged 90.06% over the past year and currently trades at $246.58, giving Phillips 66 a market capitalisation of approximately $97.4 billion. Year-to-date returns stand at 88.85%. However, the share price now trades well above the average analyst target. The most followed valuation narrative suggests a fair value of $207.53 per share, implying the stock is overvalued by 18.8%. Analysts expect earnings to grow from $4.1 billion today to $7.3 billion by August 2029, with earnings per share reaching $21.40.

Trump to host oil executives after accusing refiners of gouging consumers. By Jarrett Renshaw Reuters Updated August 31, 2026 3:40 AM Gift Article Aug 31 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has accused U.S. oil refiners of gouging Americans, called for a Justice Department investigation and urged companies to use their bumper earnings to bring down gasoline prices that spiked amid the ongoing conflict with Iran. On Tuesday, he is expected to host many of those companies at the White House to celebrate efforts to keep the market well supplied in hopes of managing gasoline prices currently averaging over $4 a gallon. The timing has created an unusual calculation for executives. Companies received invitations only late last week, with few details about the event or even who else would attend, according to people familiar with the plans, leaving some to consider whether sending their CEOs could turn a traditional White House meeting into an uncomfortable encounter with an unpredictable president. "You want to be at the table, but you also have to think about what could happen once you're there. You don't want your CEO to be embarrassed," said one company official involved in advising what executives would attend. Another company official said there were some concerns about the event, but the gathering also offered executives a rare opportunity to raise issues directly with Trump, including the administration's biofuel policy and the Jones Act, which can affect the cost and availability of fuel shipments between U.S. ports. "There are certainly concerns about the optics, but you also don't want to miss an opportunity to have a direct conversation with the president about issues that are important to the industry," the official said. There is reason for caution. At a White House meeting in January, Exxon CEO Darren Woods drew Trump's ire by calling Venezuela "uninvestable" in its current form. Trump later said he was "inclined to keep Exxon out" of Venezuela, accusing the company of "playing too cute." Exxon, the nation's third-largest refiner by capacity, was not invited to Tuesday's meeting, according to sources. The White House did not comment on the attendee list, and Exxon did not respond to requests for comment. Invited companies span the refining industry, from large integrated oil companies to smaller independent fuel makers. They include Marathon Petroleum, Delek US Holdings, Chevron, PBF Energy and Valero Energy, according to people familiar with the plans. None of the companies responded to requests for comment about any concerns over attending the meeting. EXPANDING REFINING CAPACITY The White House says the meeting will focus on expanding U.S. refining capacity, arguing years of Democratic policies led to refinery closures and discouraged investment in new facilities and expansions. The U.S. is operating at nearly 100% of its existing refining capacity, a White House official said, leaving the administration focused on "concrete, near-term steps" to increase capacity and ultimately lower gasoline prices for consumers. The meeting comes as the administration works to increase flows of Venezuelan crude to U.S. refineries, the official said. Trump has made cheaper energy a centerpiece of his economic agenda, but has increasingly trained his ire on refiners as pump prices have remained elevated, accusing them of profiteering even as he courts their support for his broader push to expand U.S. energy production. Gasoline prices have remained elevated throughout much of the year, surging after the Iran conflict began in late February and climbing above $4 a gallon in the spring. Heading into the Labor Day weekend, prices are at their highest level ever for this point in the year, with the American Automobile Association saying August is on track to be the most expensive for that month on record. U.S. refiners enjoyed bumper profits in the second quarter as gasoline and diesel margins surged and overseas buyers turned to the U.S. for fuel as global supplies were disrupted. Marathon, Phillips 66 and Valero - three of the largest U.S. refiners - reported a combined $12.6 billion in second-quarter profits, according to Reuters. Stephen Brown, a former Washington energy lobbyist and consultant who has advised CEOs on presidential politics, said he would not recommend sending a CEO to the event given Trump's treatment of the industry in recent months. "This event is a made-for-TV moment, strictly performative, that can only embarrass the company," Brown said. (Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Nathan Crooks and Chris Reese) This story was originally published August 31, 2026 at 3:13 AM.

The fossil fuel industry is spending record amounts to keep California from regulating it. In the first half of this year, oil and gas interests poured more than $17 million into fighting climate and worker-safety legislation. The fossil fuel industry isn't just raking in record profits amid the war with Iran. In California, it's also spending big to oppose climate and worker-safety legislation. According to analyses by a coalition of environmental groups called the Last Chance Alliance, oil and gas companies spent more than $17 million on California lobbying during the first half of 2026. That includes $10.3 million during the first quarter - a new record for the sector - and another $6.8 million during Q2. Much of the spending was directed against legislation proposing new costs and liabilities for the fossil fuel industry, like a state bill that would make companies pay for rebuilding following climate-intensified natural disasters. But other bills targeted were more milquetoast, seeking to clarify existing workplace-safety laws and ensure more thorough reporting of cleanup costs when oil companies want to decommission projects. Faraz Rizvi, campaign and policy director for the nonprofit Asian Pacific Environmental Network - a member of the Last Chance Alliance - criticized companies for "aggressively lobbying" against straightforward measures to protect communities and boost transparency. "They're not actors that have consumers' or communities' interests at heart," he told Grist. Last Chance Alliance pulled the data from mandatory reporting to the California secretary of state. The top spenders in the oil-and-gas lobbying category included the Western States Petroleum Association, which spent $4.3 million over the first half of the year; Chevron, whose spending amounted to $3.7 million; and Phillips 66, an oil refiner that spent just over half a million dollars. Much of the money went to consultants and alleged "front groups" that present themselves as grassroots operations but are funded by the fossil fuel industry, like Californians for Energy Independence. One big target of the sector's lobbying was California's cap-and-invest program, which requires companies to pay for a finite - and declining - number of emissions permits each year. The program covers roughly 80 percent of California's economy and is considered critical to achieving the state's climate targets, including carbon neutrality by 2045. Earlier this year, oil and gas interests successfully lobbied regulators to green-light a mechanism that could make a vast pool of free pollution permits available to fossil fuel companies. If finalized, the plan could deprive the state of billions in funding that would have otherwise gone toward public transit and housing. The change is currently facing a legal challenge from environmental groups and objections from some Democratic lawmakers. The sector also fought a bill, currently awaiting passage by the state Senate, to extend California's Displaced Oil and Gas Workers Fund. Established under a 2022 law, the $30 million fund distributes grants to help oil and gas industry workers transition to new careers. According to one estimate, the fund has already helped 600 people find new lines of work, and supporters have been discussing the potential for new forms of support, including wage replacement during transition periods and financial support during apprenticeships. Other pending bills that oil companies lobbied against propose creating a task force on safe staffing guidelines for oil refineries; preventing fossil fuel companies from abandoning methane-leaking oil wells; and adding new safety and public comment requirements for offshore oil pipelines. One bill would force companies to submit formal retirement plans before they shutter their oil refineries. The bill follows the closure of a Phillips 66 refinery in L.A. County that environmental groups claim was poorly handled. A number of the targeted bills have been defeated, giving the oil and gas industry a series of wins. These include SB 1245, which sought to stabilize California's gas supply, and SB 982, which addressed California's home insurance crisis. The latter bill would have allowed the state attorney general to sue fossil fuel companies for damages following climate-related disasters like wildfires. It was meant to help pay for skyrocketing property insurance, disaster mitigation, and other expenses that are currently straining the state's insurer of last resort. Oil and gas lobbying also helped to defeat a bill that would have made it harder for fossil fuel companies to abandon methane-leaking oil wells. There are more than 100,000 of these wells in California, and companies are often able to evade responsibility for plugging them. Hollin Kretzmann, deputy political director at the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, said it's been a generally disappointing year for Golden State climate policy. "This legislative session was just a huge missed opportunity for California. We didn't get to show what the world's fourth-largest economy could accomplish when it comes to protecting our economy, protecting our health." The lobbying is a particularly bad look, he added, given the oil and gas industry's recent earnings. Late last month, Chevron reported $12 billion in net profits during the second quarter, nearly five times as much as it earned during the same period in 2025. Exxon Mobil made $14.5 billion, more than double its second-quarter earnings from last year. These profits have been driven by oil supply disruptions linked to the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, particularly the monthslong closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Supply shortages and higher oil prices have benefited oil producers that don't depend on the strait to export products, as well as companies with oil refineries in the West. Still, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth has said threats to oil supplies are straining his company. "Every day that goes by, the situation gets more difficult," he told CNBC in late July. His company has also blamed California energy policies for high gasoline prices, deflecting accusations of price gouging. Chevron, Phillips 66, and Californians for Energy Independence did not respond to Grist's requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Western States Petroleum Association declined to comment. Ryan Schleeter, communications director for the nonprofit The Climate Center, said curtailing Big Oil's influence over the California Legislature should be a priority moving forward. He suggested starting with the reduction of public subsidies - including from the cap-and-invest program's free allocations, but also from tax loopholes that allow companies to report only a fraction of their global earnings to the state. "We're essentially subsidizing their profit margins," he told Grist. Kretzmann said more measures are needed to limit both the number of lobbyists visiting Sacramento and the amount of money they're allowed to spend; otherwise, legislators and environmental advocates will keep running into the same problem year after year. "It gets to the heart of why our policies in California don't reflect the will of the people," he said. "I don't have an easy solution, but we need our legislators to listen to the public... rather than oil industry lobbyists."