Petrochemical businesses often purchase equipment as an investment for tomorrow. However, owning rather than leasing can be a cost that doesn’t pay off over time. 

When you own, you face many unpredictable expenses with maintenance, storage and transportation, making it difficult to determine the full cost of ownership. When you add in the cost of replacing obsolete equipment, you have to ask if purchasing is the right plan for your business.

When people ask about factors affecting oil prices, industry vets often point to three things: taxes, politics, and weather. And weather is certainly a critical part of the conversation in the Gulf Coast oil industry right now. Spring may be a welcome change to the oil industry vs. the harsh winter the nation experienced this year, but spring also brings wildly unpredictable weather. As one example, strong winds and heavy rains have already hit the Texas Gulf Coast particularly hard during the first quarter of 2017. These extreme conditions possess the power to bring oil plant productivity to a screeching halt, causing delays that can severely impact the bottom line.