Jul 30, 2026 – 11.31amSoaring profits from turning crude oil into petrol and diesel have spurred a trebling in Ampol’s earnings in the first half, with the refiner describing trading conditions as “unique”.Ampol’s margin on refining crude oil at its only refinery, the Lytton plant in Brisbane, surged to $US30 ($44.46) a barrel in the June quarter, almost four times higher than a year earlier, as the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz caused chaos in global fuel markets.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
Ampol rakes it in on refining, trebling first half profits
Bumper first-half gross profits have been driven by soaring returns on turning crude oil into petrol and diesel during the conflict in the Middle East.
TL;DRAI
Ampol tripled first-half profits as refining margins surged to $30/barrel—4x year-over-year—driven by Strait of Hormuz disruption. Energy volatility from geopolitical supply-chain shocks directly escalates datacenter power costs, a critical variable for infrastructure capex and margin planning in tech.
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