FIND YOUR CONSULTANT
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
FIND YOUR CONSULTANT
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Industries > 

Oil & Gas > Refining & Marketing Practice

Refining & Marketing Practice

Umbrex connects companies in refining & marketing to independent consultants with deep experience in the industry.

Over 90% of our Refining & Marketing Practice consultants are alums of McKinsey, Bain, or BCG.

Finding the right consultant should be this easy.

1

Tell us about your project

2

Interview candidates

(We’ll provide bios within 48 hours on average)

3

Select your consultant and start work!

Find a consultant in our Refining & Marketing Practice

Prefer email? Write to [email protected]

Client Segments Umbrex Serves

  • Integrated Refining & Petrochemical Operators: Large integrated downstream businesses running complex refineries and petrochemicals, optimizing crude slates, energy, decarbonization (H2/CCUS), turnarounds, trading, and margin capture across global systems.
  • Independent Merchant Refiners: Non‑integrated refiners improving crude sourcing, product yields, reliability, compliance (IMO, Tier 3, RFS/LCFS), and commercial strategy including co‑processing renewable feedstocks; excluding upstream or pipeline operations.
  • Fuel Marketers, Retail & Convenience Networks: Branded wholesalers, jobbers, and company‑operated retail networks optimizing network planning, site formats, pricing, loyalty, EV charging, contracts, and forecourt digital; excluding pipeline, storage, or E&P.
  • Lubricants, Base Oils & Specialty Products: Producers and marketers of base oils, lubricants, asphalt, and solvents professionalizing product development, OEM approvals, channel strategy, blending/packaging, and reliability; excluding upstream or petrochemical monomers.
  • Biofuels & Sustainable Fuels Producers: Renewable diesel, SAF, ethanol, and biodiesel producers and co‑processing refineries scaling feedstock strategy, credit optimization, offtakes, certification, and decarbonization; excluding farming or midstream pipelines.

Selected Capabilities of our Refining & Marketing Practice

Strategy & Corporate Development

  • Portfolio Strategy And Capital Allocation: Optimize downstream portfolio across refineries, terminals, retail, lubricants and chemicals; rank by risk‑adjusted NPV, crack‑spread resilience; set invest, upgrade, divest, or exit decisions.
  • Market Outlook And Scenario Planning: Build refined products demand, EV adoption, biofuels and policy scenarios; stress‑test refinery margins and regional cracks; inform shutdowns, conversions, and market entry timing.
  • Downstream M&A Screening, Diligence And Integration: Screen assets and networks; run commercial, technical and HSE diligence, LP margin benchmarking and liabilities review; quantify synergies; design carve‑outs or integrations to accelerate value.
  • Refinery Configuration And Site Masterplan Strategy: Define configuration upgrades and petrochemicals integration using LP and capital efficiency; optimize crude slate flexibility and processing; deliver structural margin uplift and competitive positioning.
  • Low-Carbon Fuels And Transition Investment Strategy: Develop renewable diesel, SAF, hydrogen and carbon capture investment theses; size incentives, feedstock strategy and partnerships; prioritize options that enhance compliance, earnings resilience, and brand.

Operations

  • Operations Management System And Tiered Daily Control: Install refinery operations management system with tiered huddles, KPIs, shift handover, alarm rationalization, deviation and escalation; raise on spec throughput, constraint uptime, responsiveness.
  • Advanced Process Control And Real Time Optimization: Deploy APC and real time optimization on crude, FCC, hydrocrackers, hydrogen networks; lift throughput, yield, energy efficiency; cut variability, giveaway, flaring.
  • Loss Accounting And Yield Improvement: Implement site mass balance and data reconciliation; harden movements and tank gauging; pinpoint losses; close linear programming (LP) gaps; increase valuable product yield.
  • Blending Optimization And Giveaway Reduction: Optimize in line blends, analyzers, constraints and recipes; reduce octane, sulfur and RVP giveaway; cut reblends, off spec, inventory losses.
  • Utilities And Energy Management: Optimize steam, power, fuel gas and hydrogen networks; run furnace efficiency and heat integration campaigns; lower Energy Intensity Index (EII), OPEX, and emissions.

Supply Chain

  • Sales And Operations Planning Integration: Implement integrated Sales and Operations Planning linking demand forecasts, refinery outputs, terminal constraints, and logistics; optimize inventory, service levels, and cost-to-serve across markets.
  • Terminal And Network Footprint Optimization: Design terminal footprint, tankage, and rack capacity by market; optimize throughput agreements and blending capabilities; reduce handling cost, stockouts, and unplanned transfers.
  • Marine And Pipeline Scheduling Excellence: Optimize vessel scheduling, berth utilization, barge fleets, and pipeline batch sequencing with linefill management; cut demurrage, detention, interface losses, and late deliveries.
  • Road Distribution And Route Optimization: Redesign carrier strategy, dispatch, load builds, routing and backhauls; improve rack-to-retail On‑Time‑In‑Full (OTIF), driver productivity, and freight cost while meeting wetstock safety.
  • Inventory, Quality And Loss Control: Standardize custody transfer, gauging, ethanol blending, and product segregation; deploy reconciliation and analytics; reduce book-to-physical losses, downgrades, reblends, and claims across terminals and pipelines.

Procurement & Strategic Sourcing

  • Turnaround Services Contracting Strategy: Design contracting models for mechanical, scaffolding, insulation, electrical, instrumentation, heat exchanger bundles; set incentives and rate books; reduce turnaround cost, change orders, schedule risk.
  • Catalyst And Chemicals Category Strategy: Build should-costs, performance guarantees, and supply risk strategies for catalyst, hydrotreating, reforming and additives; negotiate reload, regeneration, disposal; lower $ per barrel and outages.
  • MRO And Rotating Equipment Sourcing: Establish frame agreements, consignment, OEM versus aftermarket mix for pumps, compressors, turbines; negotiate overhaul and parts rates; reduce OPEX, lead time, downtime.
  • Site Services And Utilities Procurement: Source industrial gases, nitrogen, hydrogen supply, waste handling, tank cleaning, scaffolding; structure performance based contracts, indexation, service levels; cut unit cost, variability, compliance risk.
  • Procurement Operating Model And Source To Pay Excellence: Implement category management, e-sourcing, contract lifecycle management, catalogs, three-way match controls; improve spend visibility, compliance, cycle time, and realized savings.

Organization

  • Refining Operating Model And Decision Rights: Define headquarters, site and center-of-excellence roles and decision rights across operations, planning, trading interface and maintenance; increase accountability, speed, and margin realization.
  • Spans And Layers Restructuring: Redesign refinery, commercial and shared services; optimize spans, layers and role clarity; reduce selling, general and administrative (SG&A) cost, overtime and rework; improve supervision effectiveness.
  • Performance Management And Incentive Design: Align KPIs and incentives to process safety, availability, energy intensity, linear programming (LP) targets and on‑time‑in‑full (OTIF); embed tiered reviews; increase throughput, quality and reliability.
  • Technical Authority And Competency Management: Define technical authority levels, competency frameworks and certification for console, field and maintenance roles; strengthen process safety, operational discipline and right‑first‑time execution.
  • Labor Strategy And Workforce Planning: Design labor strategy, union engagement, staffing models and shift patterns; optimize craft-to-supervisor ratios, succession and training pipelines; reduce overtime, turnover and contractor dependence.

Marketing

  • Go-To-Market And Channel Strategy: Define customer segments and channel mix (company-owned retail, dealers, branded wholesale, B2B, lubes, aviation/marine); align value propositions and coverage; grow volumes and share.
  • Brand Positioning And Customer Experience Design: Refresh brand architecture, signage, forecourt and in-store journeys; activate campaigns; raise awareness, conversion, Net Promoter Score, and brand compliance across networks.
  • Loyalty, Fleet Card And Digital Engagement: Design loyalty programs, private-label fleet cards, apps, marketing automation and Customer Data Platform (CDP) use cases; increase frequency, basket size, retention, and first‑party data.
  • Convenience Retail Category And Offer Optimization: Build category strategy, planograms, foodservice concepts and promotions; optimize assortment by trade area and daypart; lift gross margin, basket, and traffic.
  • Dealer And Branded Wholesaler Program Design: Structure dealer contracts, image programs, co‑op funding, and performance scorecards; improve site standards, conversion, and branded volume growth while reducing churn.

Pricing

  • Retail Fuel Pricing Optimization: Deploy elasticity-driven retail fuel pricing with competitor scraping and daypart rules; manage price image; raise cents-per-gallon, protect volume, and improve station contribution margin.
  • Wholesale Rack And DTW Pricing Strategy: Design OPIS-based rack and DTW differentials, zones, and freight pass-through; optimize discounts and rebates; improve win rate, cents-per-gallon, and channel harmony.
  • Commercial, Aviation And Marine Contract Pricing: Structure Platts/Argus-indexed commercial, aviation, and marine contracts with RIN and LCFS pass-through, fuel surcharges, and SLAs; protect margin, reduce volatility, and grow strategic accounts.
  • Lubricants And Specialties Value-Based Pricing: Build value-based pricing for lubricants and specialties by segment, channel, pack-size, and performance tier; rationalize discounts; improve gross margin and price realization.
  • Pricing Operating Model And Governance: Establish pricing operating model, guardrails, delegation, and approval workflows with analytics and audit trails; enable faster price moves, compliance, and sustained margin improvement.

Finance

  • Driver-Based FP&A And Margin Forecasting: Build driver-based P&L and cashflow models linking crude slate, refinery planning yields, crack spreads, energy and OPEX; improve forecast accuracy and covenant headroom.
  • Profitability Analytics By Product Channel And Site: Implement cost-to-serve and contribution margin dashboards by SKU, rack, station and customer; expose leakage; inform mix decisions; increase EBITDA per gallon.
  • Working Capital And Cash Conversion Optimization: Reduce DIO, DSO and optimize DPO; right-size inventories, Renewable Identification Number (RIN) and Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) positions; unlock cash and lower financing cost.
  • Commodity Risk Hedging Policy And Hedge Accounting: Define hedging strategy, limits and governance; implement hedge accounting under ASC 815/IFRS 9; stabilize earnings from cracks, basis and FX; ensure audit‑ready documentation.
  • Inventory Accounting And LIFO/FIFO Strategy: Design inventory accounting policy, lower-of-cost-or-market, and layer management; quantify LIFO reserve impacts; improve earnings quality, tax efficiency, and volatility management.

AI, Data & Analytics

  • Refinery Digital Twin And Prescriptive Optimization: Build hybrid first‑principles and machine learning digital twins across crude, conversion and hydrogen networks; deliver prescriptive setpoints; lift LP capture, throughput, yields, and energy efficiency.
  • Predictive Maintenance And Asset Health Analytics: Deploy anomaly detection and remaining-life models on compressors, pumps and heaters using historian, vibration and CMMS; cut unplanned downtime, failures, OPEX and safety risk.
  • Soft Sensors And Quality Prediction For Blending: Develop soft sensors for octane, sulfur and distillation using process data; enable real-time blend control; reduce giveaway, reblends, off-spec product and inventory losses.
  • Demand Forecasting And Runout Prevention: Build machine learning demand forecasts by station, rack and customer; optimize reorder points and replenishment; reduce runouts, emergency loads, demurrage and working capital.
  • Data Platform And Governance For Refining And Marketing: Stand up cloud data lakehouse integrating PI historian, LIMS, LP, ERP, terminal systems; implement governance, master data and lineage; accelerate analytics reuse and regulatory reporting.

Transformation

  • Enterprise Value Creation Program For Downstream: Design and execute cross-site EBITDA and cash uplift across LP capture, yield loss, energy, reliability, marketing margins, and working capital; deliver sustainable margin expansion.
  • Transformation Management Office And Value Assurance: Stand up Transformation Management Office with governance, milestones, risk and dependency management, and CFO-signed benefits tracking; accelerate delivery, de-risk execution, and sustain value.
  • Zero-Based Cost And SG&A Reset: Apply zero-based budgeting to SG&A, site services, logistics and energy support; redesign service levels; reduce structural cost without compromising process safety.
  • Digital Adoption At Scale: Drive adoption of APC, real-time optimization, digital twins and predictive maintenance with change agents, training and incentives; convert pilots into energy, yield and availability gains.
  • Underperforming Site Turnaround Program: Run 13-week margin recovery sprints, debottleneck constraints, burn down maintenance backlog, and launch energy blitzes; restore availability, LP capture, and cash generation.

Sustainability

  • Refinery Decarbonization Roadmap And Abatement Curve: Build Scope 1 and 2 baselines, abatement curves; sequence efficiency, fuel switching, electrification, hydrogen, carbon capture; quantify Energy Intensity Index, tCO2e abatement, IRR, funding.
  • Carbon Capture And Hydrogen Transition Feasibility: Assess carbon capture on fluid catalytic crackers (FCC), reformers, hydrogen units; evaluate blue hydrogen; run pre-FEED, 45Q and EU ETS economics; deliver investable decarbonization cases.
  • Low-Carbon Fuels Compliance And Credit Optimization: Optimize RFS Renewable Identification Number (RIN) and LCFS credit generation from diesel, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), hydrogen, electricity; manage deficits; reduce compliance cost; monetize credits.
  • Water Stewardship And Effluent Management: Map intake and discharge, cooling, desalter brine, sour water; design reuse, recycling and wastewater upgrades; lower freshwater intensity, permit exceedances, fees and community risk.
  • Product Carbon Intensity And Scope 3 Strategy: Calculate well-to-wheel carbon intensity by product and market; certify pathways; design low-carbon offerings and customer programs; reduce Scope 3 emissions and capture premiums.

Program & Portfolio Management

  • Downstream Portfolio Prioritization And Funding Governance: Prioritize refinery, terminal, retail, digital, sustainability initiatives by risk-adjusted NPV and constraints; set funding envelopes, stage-gates, and kill criteria; maximize enterprise margin.
  • Turnaround Portfolio Governance And Readiness Assurance: Run multi-site turnaround portfolio governance with scope challenge, risk reviews, resource leveling, and readiness audits; improve on-time startup, cost predictability, and unit availability.
  • Integrated Master Schedule Across Manufacturing And Supply: Build integrated master schedules linking units, projects, outages, logistics and marketing campaigns; manage dependencies; minimize supply disruptions and linear programming (LP) margin loss.
  • Stage-Gate Value Assurance For Brownfield Upgrades: Conduct stage-gate reviews for debottlenecking, energy, compliance, and digital upgrades; validate economics, operability, and readiness; de-risk execution and protect payback.
  • Portfolio Performance Reporting And Benefits Tracking: Implement standardized KPIs, earned value, and benefits tracking with CFO sign-off; increase forecast accuracy, accelerate decisions, and sustain EBITDA and cash realization.

Crude Supply & Trading

  • Crude Slate Strategy And Assay Management: Evaluate assays versus linear program; diversify by quality and origin; secure optionality; maximize gross refining margin and resilience under crack spread volatility.
  • Term Contracting And Price Formula Design: Structure term supply and spot procurement with Dated Brent/WTI/Dubai indexation, quality and location diffs, flexibility and options; improve delivered cost, security, and margin capture.
  • Marine Chartering And Freight Optimization: Optimize vessel selection, time-charter vs spot mix, routing and ship-to-ship; negotiate charterparty clauses; reduce freight cost, demurrage exposure, and contamination risk.
  • Demurrage And Claims Recovery: Standardize laytime calculations, documentation and claim workflows; recover demurrage, shortage and quality claims; cut leakage and shorten cash cycle.
  • Crude Scheduling And Tankage Optimization: Integrate nominations, berths, tide windows, ullage, and blend plans with LP targets; improve tank turns, avoid off‑specs, and minimize working capital.

Refinery Planning & Scheduling

  • Linear Programming Model Stewardship And Margin Realization: Upgrade Aspen PIMS/Haverly linear programming (LP) models, assays, unit vectors, constraints; validate against plant tests; tighten plan-to-actual; increase LP capture and gross refining margin.
  • Integrated Planning Governance And Cadence: Establish monthly operating plan, weekly replan, and daily scheduling handoffs; align planning, trading, operations; manage constraints and scenarios; improve margin realization and responsiveness.
  • Short Term Scheduling And Tank Farm Optimization: Design short-term unit schedules, rundown routing, tankage plans, and movement playbooks; deploy scheduling tools; reduce off-specs, reblends, interfaces, and linefill; improve utilization and inventory turns.
  • Blend Planning And Giveaway Reduction: Optimize blend recipes, components, constraints, analyzer integration; cut octane, sulfur, Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) giveaway; reduce reblends and downgrades; raise first-time on-spec quality.
  • Turnaround And Campaign Planning Integration: Integrate turnaround windows, unit campaigns, catalyst changeouts, and product demand into LP and schedules; minimize margin loss, downtime, inventories, and service disruptions.

Maintenance & Reliability

  • Asset Strategy Optimization: Build equipment strategies using RCM (Reliability-Centered Maintenance), FMEA, risk-based inspection (RBI) and PM optimization; cut failures, extend run lengths, reduce maintenance OPEX.
  • Maintenance Planning And Scheduling Excellence: Standardize planning standards, job packs, kitting, frozen weekly schedule, and readiness gates; lift wrench time, reduce backlog and overtime, improve schedule compliance.
  • Defect Elimination And Bad Actor Management: Install root cause analysis, FRACAS, and bad-actor forums; prioritize chronic failures; remove design and operating defects; raise MTBF, availability, and process safety performance.
  • Mechanical Integrity And Corrosion Management: Implement API 580/581 RBI, circuitization, thickness monitoring, and inspection planning; mitigate loss-of-containment risk; optimize inspection intervals and turnaround scope.
  • Spares Criticality And Maintenance BOM Enablement: Build equipment Bills of Materials, criticality ranking, min/max and repairable spares processes; reduce stockouts and maintenance delays; lower working capital and mean time to repair.

Connect with the right consultant

Umbrex rapidly connects you with independent professionals who combine top‑tier consulting experience at firms such as McKinsey, Bain, Boston Consulting Group with hands‑on roles.

Find a consultant in our Refining & Marketing Practice

Prefer email? Write to [email protected]

Thought Leadership

Industry Insights from Umbrex:

How to Analyze an Upstream Oil Company