CITGO Delivers Strong Refinery Performance in First Quarter 2026

First Quarter 2026 Highlights

• Generated net income of $157 million; EBITDA¹ of $368 million; and Adjusted EBITDA¹ of $361 million
• Ran at high utilization, with total throughput of 851,000 bpd, including record setting crude runs of 819,000 bpd, for an average crude utilization rate of 99%
• Ended the quarter with $2.5 billion in liquidity, including full availability under the Company's $500 million accounts receivable securitization facility, which was extended through July 31, 2026
• Invested $96 million in turnarounds and catalyst work and $104 million in capital projects during the quarter
• Forecasts of full-year 2026 EBITDA of $3.2-3.6 billion and year-end cash balance of $3.5-3.9 billion, based on current market conditions and strong outlook for rest of 2026

HOUSTON, May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- CITGO Petroleum Corporation ("CITGO") today reported first-quarter 2026 financial and operational results, highlighted by favorable late-quarter refining margins and reliable operations. Strong product differentials in March contributed to net income of $157 million, EBITDA of $368 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $361 million.

"Reliability remained strong during the quarter and our margin capture rate improved relative to the previous quarter," said Carlos Jordá, President and CEO of CITGO Petroleum Corporation. "Looking ahead, we expect favorable market conditions to continue throughout 2026, and we believe our refineries are well positioned to capture market opportunities while we continue executing our operational and commercial excellence initiatives and our capital program throughout the year."

Operational and Commercial Highlights

Operational Excellence: Health, safety and environmental (HSE) performance remains a priority and supports operational excellence across the organization, as highlighted below. First quarter operational highlights also are summarized below.

• First-quarter total refinery throughput was 851,000 bpd, including record setting crude runs of 819,000 bpd, with an overall average crude utilization rate of 99% across CITGO's three refineries.
• The Lake Charles refinery delivered another record-breaking performance, setting monthly crude, input and product records, as well as a new quarterly crude record of just over 500,000 bpd, its fifth consecutive month of record crude processing rates.
• The Lemont refinery initiated a major turnaround block on its fluid catalytic cracking and alkylation units in early March and restarted in May 2026.
• The Corpus Christi refinery set a crude processing record of 175,000 bpd in January, the first full month after completing a major crude system turnaround in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Commercial Excellence: Commodity prices rose sharply in the first quarter, triggering mark-to-market losses on derivatives used to hedge certain physical positions. Under last-in, first-out (LIFO) accounting, the offsetting increase in the inventory's market value is not reflected in book value. Extreme price volatility also contributed to a 3% decline in marketing sales volume to 417,000 bpd from 430,000 bpd in the prior quarter. Branding activity remained strong, and Club CITGO® loyalty-related gallons rose 27% year over year.

The Terminals and Pipeline business unit posted several first-quarter records. The Sour Lake Pipeline set a daily pumping record and a monthly record in March. The East Chicago terminal set a daily loading rack record, and the Corpus Christi terminal set a monthly throughput record. Construction is also underway on the gasoline truck rack in Luling, Texas.

CITGO expanded its trading footprint by increasing blending capacity on the U.S. Gulf Coast, adding term charters and growing direct business with U.S. airline carriers. In accordance with the appropriate OFAC license, the company also purchased and refined its first Venezuelan crude oil since 2019.

Full-Year 2026 Forecasts

Based on current market conditions and a strong outlook for the remainder of the year, CITGO is currently projecting full-year 2026 EBITDA of between $3.2 and $3.6 billion and a year-end 2026 cash balance of between $3.5 and $3.9 billion, using forward curves and assuming no material full-year changes in working capital.

About CITGO

CITGO owns and operates three large-scale, highly complex petroleum refineries with a total rated crude oil refining capacity of approximately 829,000 bpd, located in Lake Charles, La., Corpus Christi, Texas, and Lemont, Ill. Our refining operations are supported by an extensive distribution network, which provides reliable access to our refined product end-markets. We own 35 active refined product terminals with a total storage capacity of 18.3 million barrels and have equity ownership of an additional 3.5 million barrels of refined product storage capacity through our joint ownership of an additional eight terminals, spread across 22 states. In addition, we own or have an equity interest in four additional terminals, consisting of approximately 1 million barrels of refined storage capacity, which are currently inactive or only utilized to store feedstocks used in refining operations. We also have access to approximately 140 active third-party and related-party terminals through exchange, terminalling and similar arrangements. Our retail network consists of more than 4,000 independently owned and operated CITGO-branded retail outlets located east of the Rocky Mountains. CITGO and its predecessors have had a recognized brand presence in the U.S. for more than 100 years.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

General:

CITGO publishes financial and other information on its website, including reports of quarterly and annual results of operations. While CITGO's historical financial information is presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), CITGO is not an SEC reporting company and does not report all information required of SEC reporting companies. In addition, CITGO publishes certain non-GAAP financial information, including EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, as discussed below.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" regarding financial and operational matters relating to the CITGO business, including forecasts of full-year 2026 results of operations and anticipated year-end 2026 cash position. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond CITGO's control and could result in expectations not being realized or could otherwise materially and adversely affect CITGO's business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. This press release may also contain estimates and other information regarding market and industry data that were obtained from internal company estimates, as well as third-party sources believed to be generally reliable. However, market data is subject to change and cannot always be verified with certainty due to limits on the availability and reliability of raw data and other limitations and uncertainties inherent in any statistical survey, interpretation or presentation of market data and management's estimates and projections. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release. For additional information, please see CITGO's most recent annual report and other reports to CITGO noteholders, including the information set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in CITGO's annual report for the year ended December 31, 2025. CITGO disclaims any duty to update any such forward-looking statements.

Operational Metrics and Non-GAAP Financial Measures:

This press release also contains operational metrics and non-GAAP financial information, including EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Refinery EBITDA Estimates, that have not been audited and are based on management's estimates, which may be difficult to verify. These non-GAAP financial measures are presented in addition to and should not be viewed as a substitute for or superior to measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, CITGO's non-GAAP financial measures may differ from non-GAAP measures used by other companies in our industry. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures, when presented in conjunction with comparable GAAP measures, provide useful supplemental information regarding underlying trends in the Company's operating performance by excluding items that may not be indicative of the Company's core operating performance. Please see the reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable GAAP measure set forth in the tables that follow.

SOURCE CITGO Petroleum Corporation