Finance Tools

Refinery Margin (Crack Spread) Calculator

Estimate refinery margin using a simple crack spread model (e.g., 3-2-1) with crude input and refined product prices.

Crack spread is a simplified proxy for refinery margin: compare the value of refined products to the cost of crude input. This tool supports a standard 3-2-1 model or a custom ratio.

Model

3-2-1 approximates turning 3 barrels of crude into 2 barrels of gasoline + 1 barrel of distillate.

Crude price ($/bbl)

Gasoline price ($/bbl)

Distillate price ($/bbl)

Crude processed (barrels)

Used to estimate total margin from the spread.

Model ratio: 3-2-1 (crude in – gasoline out – distillate out)

Crack spread (per crude barrel): +$16.67 / bbl

Total margin estimate: +$500000.00

Formula: (gasoline_out×gas_price + distillate_out×dist_price − crude_in×crude_price) ÷ crude_in. This is a simplified spread proxy, not a full refinery cost model.

How to use this refinery margin (crack spread) calculator

Choose a crack spread ratio (3-2-1 or custom).
Enter crude price (per barrel).
Enter product prices (gasoline, distillate) per barrel.
Review estimated crack spread per barrel and total for a chosen crude volume.

Example

For a 3-2-1 model: crude $80/bbl, gasoline $95/bbl, distillate $100/bbl:

Crack (3-2-1) = (2×95 + 1×100 − 3×80) ÷ 3 = $16.67/bbl
If you process 30,000 bbl crude: margin ≈ 16.67 × 30,000 = $500,100

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