Ampol says Lytton refiner margin more than doubled in third quarter; extra maintenance to cut fuel output

Australian fuel refiner and retailer Ampol said on Monday that the margin at its Lytton refinery in Brisbane was US$23.92 a barrel in the July-September quarter, compared with US$10.64 a barrel a year earlier.

In a trading update to the ASX, Ampol said group earnings before interest and tax on a replacement cost basis grew in the third quarter compared with the quarterly average for the second half of 2025. It did not give a dollar figure. The company said refining benefited from elevated regional refining margins, partly offset by higher crude premiums and a planned maintenance shutdown at Lytton.

During that shutdown, Ampol said inspections identified additional reactor refractory relining work on the refinery’s fluidised catalytic cracking unit, and it decided to bring forward maintenance on one of the refinery’s crude units. The company said doing the work during the current shutdown was the most economically efficient approach. The cracking unit is now expected to restart in mid-November, and production of petrol, diesel and jet fuel is expected to be about 150 million litres lower in the fourth quarter than previously planned. Ampol said customer supply is not expected to be affected.

Group fuel sales volumes rose 3.6% from a year earlier to 6,245 million litres in the quarter, while Australian wholesale volumes fell 19%, the company said. Headline shop sales in its core Ampol convenience network, excluding EG and U-GO sites, rose by a double-digit percentage from a year earlier.

Ampol said an escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East in recent weeks and ongoing constraints on fuel supply continued to be “net favourable” for its integrated supply chain, while noting that the trading environment that supported its first-half result had not recurred. It said it remains well placed to maintain fuel supply to Australia and New Zealand.