At the CERAWeek conference in Houston on Tuesday, CEO Mark Lashier disclosed that Phillips 66 has reconfigured its Bayway and Sweeny refineries to process approximately 250,000 barrels per day of medium and heavy Venezuelan crude. This incremental capacity represents roughly 15% of the company’s total refining throughput and is expected to improve crude slate flexibility. Lashier noted that the yield shift toward heavier feedstocks could enhance downstream margins by an estimated $0.50 to $1.00 per barrel once full ramp-up is achieved in the third quarter of 2026.

Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research project that Phillips 66 will report a Q4 refining margin of $12.75 per barrel, up from $11.90 in Q3, driven by strong diesel cracks and stable gasoline demand. The midstream segment’s distributable cash flow is forecast at $550 million, a 6% increase year-over-year, supported by recent fee-based contract renewals. In the chemicals unit, market consensus anticipates EBITDA of $225 million, buoyed by a 4% uptick in specialty polymers volumes and improved olefins spread vs. Q3 levels.

Consensus earnings per share for Q4 stand at $3.50, marking a rebound from a $2.85 result in the year-ago quarter. However, total revenues are expected to dip 5% to $35 billion due to lower throughput in early December turnarounds and narrower product differentials. Phillips 66’s current enterprise value to EBITDA multiple of 12.1x exceeds the 9.0x average of its integrated energy peers, prompting debate among investors over whether to maintain positions ahead of the February 27 earnings release.