PBF Energy Q3 2026 Earnings Call: 2,3 Mrd. USD EBITDA und Schuldenabbau

Kernaussagen

• PBF Energy meldete für das dritte Quartal 2026 einen bereinigten Nettogewinn von 12,78 US-Dollar je Aktie und ein bereinigtes EBITDA von rund 2,3 Milliarden US-Dollar, unterstützt durch ein knappes Angebot an Raffinerieprodukten, eine solide Nachfrage und eine verbesserte Markterfassung.
• Der operative Cashflow erreichte rund 1,9 Milliarden US-Dollar. PBF reduzierte die Nettoverschuldung im Laufe des Quartals um mehr als 1,2 Milliarden US-Dollar und seit Jahresbeginn um mehr als 2 Milliarden US-Dollar, womit das dritte Quartal mit einer Nettokasse von 426 Millionen US-Dollar abgeschlossen wurde.
• Der Raffineriedurchsatz lag im Durchschnitt bei rund 924.000 Barrel pro Tag. Das Management prognostiziert für das vierte Quartal einen Durchsatz von 925.000 bis 985.000 Barrel pro Tag nach Abschluss der Überholungsarbeiten (Turnarounds) in Martinez und Paulsboro.
• Das Programm zur Verbesserung des Raffineriegeschäfts erbrachte auf Jahresbasis berechnete Kostenverbesserungen (Run-Rate) von mehr als 230 Millionen US-Dollar, die in den Plänen für 2026 enthalten sind. PBF erwartet, dass dieser Wert bis Ende 2026 die Marke von 350 Millionen US-Dollar überschreiten wird.
• PBF behielt seine Investitionsprognose (CapEx) für 2026 von 825 bis 875 Millionen US-Dollar bei – ohne Ausgaben im Zusammenhang mit dem Wiederaufbau von Martinez – und hob die Quartalsdividende um 18 % an.
• Das Management geht davon aus, dass Maßnahmen zur Refinanzierung und Rückzahlung von Schulden im Jahr 2026 den Zinsaufwand im Jahr 2027 um mindestens 130 Millionen US-Dollar senken werden.

Wichtige Finanzdaten

Geschäfts- und operative Entwicklung

Der systemweite Durchsatz von PBF lag im Durchschnitt bei rund 924.000 Barrel pro Tag und damit im Rahmen der Quartalsprognose. Die Wartungsarbeiten (Turnarounds) am Hydrocracker in Martinez und an der Rohölanlage in Paulsboro begannen im September und wurden im Oktober zeit- und budgetgerecht sowie innerhalb der Zielwerte der Branchen-Benchmarks abgeschlossen. Laut Management verfügt das Unternehmen für den Rest des Jahres 2026 über einen klaren operativen Handlungsspielraum.

Das Unternehmen schloss die Übernahme von zwei Wasserstoffanlagen ab, die die Raffinerie Torrance versorgen. Das Management erwartet, dass eine engere Integration von Betrieb, Wartung und Überholungsplanung die Auslastung und Zuverlässigkeit der Raffinerie verbessern wird. Die Transaktion ändert nichts an den Gesamtcashflows, verschiebt jedoch deren bilanzielle Klassifizierung von operativen Leasingverhältnissen zu Finanzierungstätigkeiten.

Das Programm zur Verbesserung des Raffineriegeschäfts von PBF erzielte auf Jahresbasis berechnete Kostenverbesserungen von mehr als 230 Millionen US-Dollar, die in den Plänen für 2026 enthalten sind. Die Investitionsreduzierungen liegen bei rund 88 Millionen US-Dollar und damit über der Zusage des Unternehmens von 70 Millionen US-Dollar. Die systemweite Erdgasintensität sank seit Jahresbeginn um rund 11 %, während strategische Beschaffungsinitiativen jährliche Einsparungen von etwa 55 Millionen US-Dollar identifizierten.

In Chalmette wandelt die erste Phase eines Projekts zur Ausbeuteoptimierung hochschwefelhaltigen Diesel in rund 10.000 Barrel Flugbenzin (Kerosin) pro Tag um. PBF plant, diese Kapazität im Jahr 2027 auf 20.000 Barrel pro Tag zu erhöhen. Ein separates Projekt in Paulsboro, das im Plan für 2027 enthalten ist, soll die Benzinausbeute und die Blending-Kapazitäten um etwa 10.000 Barrel pro Tag verbessern. Das Management betonte, dass es sich hierbei um Ausbeuteprojekte und nicht um Kapazitätserweiterungen handelt.

Das Joint Venture St. Bernard Renewables produzierte rund 19.200 Barrel erneuerbaren Diesel pro Tag, was am oberen Ende der Prognose lag. PBF erhielt im Laufe des Quartals seine erste Dividendenausschüttung von SBR in Höhe von insgesamt rund 20 Millionen US-Dollar.

Das Management führte das starke Raffinerieumfeld auf ein begrenztes Produktangebot und eine widerstandsfähige Nachfrage zurück. Mehr als 5 Millionen Barrel pro Tag an globaler Raffineriekapazität waren außer Betrieb, während die weltweiten Bestände als rund 500 Millionen Barrel unter dem Niveau vor dem Krieg beschrieben wurden. Der Crack-Spread New York Harbor 2-1-1 lag im dritten Quartal im Schnitt bei fast 65 US-Dollar pro Barrel, verglichen mit rund 26 US-Dollar im Vorjahreszeitraum.

Prognose des Managements

Das Management bezeichnete das Raffinerieumfeld im vierten Quartal unter Verweis auf größere Rohöldifferenzen, ein starkes Marktumfeld im Oktober und das Fehlen geplanter Wartungsarbeiten als konstruktiv. Es lehnte jedoch eine Prognose für die kurzfristigen Crack-Spreads ab.

PBF rechnet damit, den Versicherungsanspruch für Martinez vor Jahresende abzuschließen. Das Management erklärte, die Schlusszahlung dürfte in einer ähnlichen Größenordnung wie bei jüngsten Vergleichsfällen liegen, nannte jedoch keinen konkreten Betrag.

Risiken und zu beobachtende Bereiche

• Das Umlaufvermögen im vierten Quartal wird durch effektive Steuerzahlungen und Rohstoffpreisbewegungen beeinflusst werden. Das Management erklärte, die tatsächliche Auswirkung hänge davon ab, wie sich die Preise entwickeln.
• Erhöhte Frachtraten bleiben ein Marktrisiko, obwohl rund die Hälfte der Flotte von PBF durch Zeitcharterverträge abgedeckt ist und seine Beschaffungsrouten kürzer sind als die vieler asiatischer Raffinerien.
• Der Wartungsplan (Turnarounds) für 2027 wird nach der Verschiebung von Arbeiten in Chalmette und Toledo umfangreicher ausfallen als in den meisten Jahren. PBF hat noch keine spezifische CapEx-Prognose für 2027 vorgelegt.
• Die Raffineriemargen bleiben volatil. Das Management erwartet, dass die Normalisierung der Produktmärkte länger dauern wird als die der Rohölströme, aber die kurzfristigen Crack-Spreads (Prompt Cracks) können erheblich schwanken.
• Die Rohölbeschaffung in Kalifornien ist derzeit eher durch die Produktion als durch die Pipeline-Kapazitäten eingeschränkt. Das Management erwartet kurzfristig keine wesentliche Veränderung des politischen Umfelds im Bundesstaat.

Wichtigste Punkte aus der Fragerunde der Analysten

Die Analysten konzentrierten sich auf Rohölabschläge, die Bilanzstrategie, Erhaltungsinvestitionen (Sustaining Capital), den Betrieb an der Westküste sowie die Kapitalallokation.

Das Management erklärte, dass sich vergrößernde Preisunterschiede zwischen leichten und schweren Rohölsorten dem komplexen Raffinerienetzwerk von PBF zugutekommen. Abschläge auf lateinamerikanisches Schweröl, die teilweise durch Frachtkosten getrieben werden, beeinflussen auch die kanadischen Rohölmärkte. PBF beabsichtigt, den Einsatz wirtschaftlich attraktiver Schwerölsorten in seinem gesamten System zu maximieren.

Bezüglich der Liquidität argumentierte das Management, dass angesichts der jüngsten Marktvolatilität eine stärkere Bilanz erforderlich sei. PBF behielt zwei Kapitalmarktinstrumente bei – eine Anleihe über 500 Millionen US-Dollar und unverzinsliche Umtauschanleihen (0 % Exchangeable Notes) über 550 Millionen US-Dollar –, um den Marktzugang und die finanzielle Flexibilität zu wahren. Die jährlichen Zinsen für diese Instrumente werden auf rund 37,5 Millionen US-Dollar geschätzt, verglichen mit historischen Zinsaufwendungen von etwa 175 Millionen US-Dollar.

Das Management bezifferte die Erhaltungsinvestitionen (Sustaining Capital) vor dem Programm auf eine Basis von rund 230 Millionen US-Dollar mit RBI-Einsparungen von etwa 25 bis 30 Millionen US-Dollar. Es erklärte zudem, dass sich die Kostenentwicklung bei Wartungsarbeiten (Turnarounds) von der unteren Hälfte in die obere Hälfte der Branchen-Benchmarks verbessert habe.

Die Nachfrage an der Westküste blieb trotz Preisvolatilität widerstandsfähig, während die Großhandelsvolumina von PBF leicht anstiegen. Das Management hob den strategischen Wert seiner kalifornischen Raffinerien und der M-70-Pipeline hervor, die Zugang zur lokalen Rohölförderung bietet.

Hinsichtlich der Kapitalallokation priorisierte PBF die Bilanzstärke, renditestarke Raffinerieprojekte und nachhaltige Ausschüttungen an die Aktionäre. Aktienrückkäufe bleiben Teil des Unternehmensrahmens, jedoch betonte das Management kleinere Ausbeute- und Effizienzprojekte gegenüber großen Kapazitätserweiterungen.

Vollständiges Transkript des Earnings Call

Vollständiges Transkript der Telefonkonferenz

Ausführungen des Managements

Operator

Good day, everyone, and welcome to the PBF Energy Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this conference is being recorded.

It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to Colin Murray of Investor Relations. Sir, you may begin.

Colin Murray

Thank you, Jeanie. Good morning, and welcome to today's call. With me today are Matt Lucey, our President and CEO; Mike Bukowski, our Senior Vice President and Head of Refining; Joe Marino, our CFO; and several other members of our management team. Copies of today's earnings release and our 10-Q filing, including supplemental information, are available on our website.

Before getting started, I'd like to direct your attention to the safe harbor statement contained in today's press release. Statements expressing the company's or management's expectations or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions under federal securities laws. Consistent with our prior periods, we'll discuss our results excluding special items, which are described in today's press release. Also included in the press release is forward-looking guidance information. For any questions on these items or other follow-up questions, please contact Investor Relations.

I'll now turn the call over to Matt Lucey.

Matthew Lucey

Thanks, Colin. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining our call. Third quarter earnings speak for themselves. We intend to convert those earnings into lasting improvements in our business. The company reduced net debt by more than $1.2 billion during the quarter and by more than $2 billion this year. As Joe will detail, our balance sheet transformation has put the company on strongest financial footing since our formation.

Over the last 7 years, markets have become increasingly volatile with shorter cycles as evidenced by the 3 once-in-a-generation events over that period. Prudence dictates a deeper balance sheet to navigate this new reality. The company's focus is to execute, execute, execute. Execute our base business and do so efficiently and importantly, through our business improvement initiatives to improve the competitive positioning of each asset we own. extract incremental profitability through all cycles, up or down. We are investing in our assets to improve utilization, reliability and yields, which will translate into stronger through-the-cycle cash flow and make our system more resilient. By executing well on these priorities, we will maximize the resilience of our system, create greater long-term shareholder value and increase our ability to return capital to shareholders.

Turning to the market. The biggest disruption to the oil market have materialized in the availability of refined products. The disruptions have coincided with what was an already structurally tight refining market. On the crude side, the market has adapted reasonably given the circumstances. Flows through the Strait of Hormuz have recovered to roughly 3/4 of pre-war levels with some recent weekly reports higher, but product flows remain well below pre-war levels.

Recently, the dramatic increase in freight rates has really put pressure on the Asian refiners. Freight, coupled with rising natural gas costs overseas, is raising the cost to run international capacity. Headwinds that U.S. refiners are less exposed to due to our shorter transit times and abundant domestic supply of natural gas. Freight dynamics paired with growing production of heavy crudes has widened the light heavy differentials. PBF's crude slate flexibility and close proximity to production is a real tailwind going into the fourth quarter for our cost of crude. The freight realities raised the bar for delivery of imports needed in our product short coastal markets. PBF sells the majority of our products domestically, thereby avoiding costly transits.

The story on products remains a supply story. More than 5 million barrels a day of global capacity is offline, a portion of which with physical damage. With global inventories roughly 500 million barrels below pre-war levels, there is essentially 0 cushion in the system. Policy responses can be helpful on the margin. However, at the core, the world is simply short refined products. Benchmark cracks reflected the tightness. The New York Harbor 2-1-1 averaged nearly $65 a barrel in the third quarter compared with about $26 a year ago. Nowhere are current product dynamics more clear than our coasts, which are structurally short refining capacity and dependent on imports. California alone roughly -- imports roughly 250,000 barrels a day of gasoline, about 30% of its demand. The situation reinforces the point we have made for some time. U.S. refining is critical infrastructure.

Looking ahead, demand has proven resilient, holding up well domestically. Peace may and hopefully will normalize trade flows, but it will not restore damaged capacity, rebuild depleted inventories or reverse years of capacity rationalization. Crude normalization will happen much quicker than stabilization in the product markets. Taken together, we believe that refining has entered a new higher cycle characterized by higher volatility with a bias towards wider crude differentials.

Given our high complex coastal refining system, PBF is well positioned for this market environment. None of this changes what we can control. To be successful and enhance value for our investors, we must operate safely, reliably and responsibly, and we must execute on our process improvement initiatives to maximize market capture.

With that, I'll turn the call over to Mike.

Michael A. Bukowski

Thank you, Matt. Good morning, everyone. In the third quarter, our throughput averaged approximately 924,000 barrels a day across the system, which is in line with our overall guidance for the quarter. On the West Coast, we began the Martinez hydrocracker turnaround in September and completed it in October as planned. Also in September, we closed the acquisition of the 2 hydrogen plants servicing our Torrance refinery from Air Products.

Owning and operating those assets allows us to more closely integrate their operations, maintenance and turnarounds with the refinery, which we expect will improve the overall reliability of Torrance. On the East Coast, the Paulsboro crude unit turnaround also commenced in September and was completed in October as planned. Both the Martinez and Paulsboro turnarounds were within budget and industry benchmark targets. With Paulsboro back online, we are well positioned to supply our markets as temperatures drop in the Northeast.

At Chalmette, the pretreater and reformer that were taken offline in May are back in service. Chalmette had no impact from Hurricane Isaias. With our turnarounds complete, we have a clear operational runway for the remainder of 2026. For the fourth quarter, we expect total throughput of 925,000 to 985,000 barrels per day. We continue to make progress on our refining business improvement program. RBI generated in excess of $230 million of run rate cost improvements that were included in our 2026 plans, and we expect that to grow to more than $350 million by year-end 2026.

Some recent accomplishments. Our turnaround performance continues to improve as demonstrated by the execution of the Martinez and Paulsboro turnarounds this quarter. Our RBI-driven 2026 capital reductions are tracking approximately $88 million versus $70 million versus our $70 million commitment, including approximately $54 million from turnarounds.

Natural gas intensity across our system is down approximately 11% year-to-date, and for instance, Toledo has improved its overall energy intensity by 10% to 15%. Our strategic sourcing organization has identified approximately $55 million per year of savings across 3 waves of contract renewals. As Matt mentioned, investing in our assets is a key pillar of our strategy to enhance the long-term value of our system. We've identified a number of relatively small to mid-scale projects that will improve utilization, yields and reduce costs, and we've already begun executing this plan. In the third quarter, we completed the first phase of a jet fuel project at Chalmette. By upgrading high sulfur diesel, we are now producing approximately 10,000 barrels per day of jet fuel. And in 2027, we plan to increase that capability to 20,000 barrels per day.

As a further example, we've identified a similar opportunity at Paulsboro included in our 2027 plans, where upgrading lower-value intermediates will increase our gasoline yield and blending capability by about 10,000 barrels per day. To be clear, these are yield improvement projects, not capacity expansions. We are not pursuing high-cost mega projects, and we have no intention of investing in large capacity expansions. RBI is central to improving PBF's future performance, but it will not distract us from our obligation to operate in a safe, reliable and environmentally responsible way every day.

I'll now turn the call over to Joe Marino for our financial overview.

Joseph Marino

Thanks, Mike. For the third quarter, excluding special items, we reported adjusted net income of $12.78 per share and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $2.3 billion. Our discussion of third quarter results excludes the net effect of special items, which decreased net income by a net after-tax charge of $29 million or $0.24 per share. These primarily consisted of approximately $11 million of costs associated with the RBI initiative and $28 million pretax loss on extinguishment of debt related to the redemption of our 7.875% Senior Notes due 2030 and the write-off of a portion of deferred financing costs in connection with refinancing activities.

PBF results for the quarter are primarily a reflection of the strong product markets driven by tight supply and relatively firm demand. With our full system available this quarter, we were able to improve our capture in an elevated market environment. On the Martinez insurance claim, total recoveries to date are $1.25 billion, net of our deductibles and retention. As expected, we did not receive further payments in the third quarter, and we are working with our insurance group to finalize the claim process before year-end with a final payment expected in a similar range to the recent precedents.

Also included in our results is $62 million of equity income from our investment in SBR or approximately $72 million of EBITDA as the renewable business continues to benefit from strong margins and higher credit prices. SBR produced an average of approximately 19,200 barrels per day of renewable diesel in the third quarter at the upper end of our guidance range, and we expect fourth quarter production of 18,000 to 20,000 barrels per day.

PBF cash from operations for the quarter was approximately $1.9 billion, which includes a modest working capital tailwind of $56 million, primarily driven by the timing and delivery of hydrocarbon purchases. Higher commodity prices are generally a tailwind to working capital, but as a significant portion of the price increases occurred late in the quarter, we are seeing benefits flow through in early Q4. We also expect the cash tax payment to flow through working capital in the fourth quarter. However, the ultimate impact on Q4 working capital will depend on where prices go from here.

Cash invested in consolidated CapEx for the quarter was $177 million, which includes refining, corporate and logistics. This amount excludes approximately $8 million related to the Martinez rebuild and $46.5 million associated with the Air Products asset purchase. Our guidance for 2026 capital expenditures remains $825 million to $875 million, excluding capital related to the Martinez rebuild. Included in that guidance is funding for advanced purchases of materials for the turnarounds we scheduled for 2027.

We ended the quarter with approximately $2.5 billion of cash, approximately $2.1 billion of total debt and $426 million of net cash, reducing net debt by more than $1.2 billion during the quarter. In September, we issued $550 million of 0% exchangeable notes due 2032 and used the proceeds and cash on hand to fully redeem the $500 million of 7.875% Senior Notes due 2030. We also closed the acquisition of the Torrance hydrogen plant, which was financed with the seller's promissory note of approximately $340 million that is included in our total debt.

Subsequent to quarter end, we fully redeemed the outstanding $800 million 9.875% Senior Notes due 2030 using cash on hand. Following this redemption, our gross debt is approximately $1.4 billion, inclusive of the Air Products promissory note. As a result of these actions, interest expense is coming down. However, including refinancing costs, we expect 2026 interest expense to be within our guidance. Importantly, while we are still in the midst of our 2027 budgeting process, we expect this year's refinancing and debt paydown to reduce interest expense by at least $130 million in 2027.

We project using a substantial majority of our NOLs in 2026, and you can continue to use an effective tax rate of approximately 26% for modeling purposes. As Matt mentioned, our capital allocation framework is focused on strengthening the balance sheet, investing in our assets and delivering long-term value and returns to shareholders. While we do envision allocating capital to strategic and margin-enhancing spending at the refinery, our intention is to be prudent stewards of capital and allocate tactically for long-term strategic benefit. Today's 18% increase in our quarterly dividend reflects our confidence in that approach.

Operator, we completed our opening remarks, and we'd be pleased to take any questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Manav Gupta with UBS.

Fragen und Antworten

Manav Gupta

Congrats team and great job. Dividend raised, debt lowered. My first question is, you are one of the biggest users of beneficiaries of quality discounts. We are seeing quality discounts widen across the world. So if you could talk about what is driving that and how PBF benefits from it. And again, on the West Coast, it's a little tricky because ANS is trading at a slight premium to Brent. So I'm just trying to understand how you're managing your crude purchases on the West Coast. So if you can talk about all those things.

Matthew Lucey

Sure. Thanks, Manav. Simply put, crude costs across our system in California and PADD1 and in the Gulf Coast look like real tailwinds for our system. Our strength has always been on the back of our complexity. And as crude differentials widen out, we're certainly the beneficiary of that situation. California is a bit unique because the California grades, in particular, impact our West Coast system. We're maximizing how much California crude we can run. Indeed, the dynamics in California are a bit unique, but we have a proprietary pipeline that has even a little space left. So we try to gobble up as much California crude as we can. But the other aspect is the Gulf Coast and the East Coast will directly benefit from a widening light heavy differential. Follow-up, Tom?

Thomas O'Connor

The Latin American heavies are really driving the discounts that everybody is seeing and talking about. We're seeing freight drive the FOB valuations in South America much lower. The Canadian markets are following that, and our system is taking advantage of that everywhere we can. We run a substantial amount of heavies, so very beneficial.

Manav Gupta

Perfect. My second follow-up is a little more tricky. I'm just trying to understand what's the right level of cash for a company like PBF to hold on the balance sheet look. Too low of a cash is a problem, but too much of the cash on the balance sheet kind of makes you a very interesting acquisition target because you have a unique footprint, the world realizes the benefits of North American refining. And if you start getting to a point where 40%, 50% of your market cap start sitting as cash on the balance sheet, then you become a very interesting acquisition target. So I'm just trying to understand what's the right amount of cash to be holding on the balance sheet?

Matthew Lucey

It is a bit tricky because the volatility has been so severe in the marketplace. As I commented, three once in a generation or once in a career events in 7 years, it gives you pause. And obviously, the up cycle, we've had down cycles on the back of the pandemic. But in refining, there's no replacement for a strong balance sheet. So we intend to maintain that. The sort of percentages you're quoting there, we're a bit a ways from that. So that's not an issue for today. But if you take a step back and get the balance sheet as strong as it possibly can be, then we just bring good, prudent, disciplined management of the capital that we have. We've increased our dividend.

We did that very methodically. We always look at our dividend this time of year. And we stated that we wanted to be competitive and maybe most importantly, sustainable through all markets. And obviously, we've completely reconfigured the debt side of the balance sheet. And so we have tremendous confidence in our dividend and the increase there from as sustainable through all markets. So we addressed the net debt. We increased the competitive dividend this quarter.

Share buybacks are always a critical component of shareholder return programs. But we also think we can benefit significantly from low-hanging fruit. If you think back to PBF history for standing on our feet when we first became public and then growing. We're really at a moment now where as a company across our system, my guess of our inventory of low-hanging fruit is simply larger than others. And when I say low-hanging fruit, I'm really implying no one in these halls are contemplating, as Mike said, mega projects or massive expansions.

But the example of what we did at Chalmette, where we're converting high-sulfur diesel into jet fuel, and we're doing that for under $20 million of capital. That delta of high-sulfur diesel in the Gulf to jet is about $0.20 a gallon. So if you want to say $8, $9 a barrel and 20,000 barrels a day, that really makes us a more resilient company, and that capital has such a high return, that's the best -- that project has such a high return. That's the best allocation of that capital. But we have other projects like that through our system. And so we're going to be evaluating those very prudently, very cautiously, very disciplined. But we think we have a tremendous opportunity to deepen the keel. And so that's where our focus is.

Manav Gupta

Congrats on a great quarter and looks like the first one will be very, very strong also.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Doug Leggate with Wolfe Research.

Douglas George Blyth Leggate

Let me echo, Matt, what a turnaround in the last year after all you've been through. But I do -- if I don't mind, I'm going to follow up on Manav's question and ask the question about cash a little differently. So you've done this 0 cost coupon convertible. You're basically looking, it seems to keep some level of debt on the balance sheet. And you are still quite a volatile business just by the nature of the cost base and everything else. So my question is, why keep any permanent financing? You've taken the net debt to 0. Why have any permanent financing on the balance sheet? Because all it does is exacerbate the volatility of your business. That's my first question.

My second question is, I just wonder, coming out the other side of Martinez, can you give us a refresh on what you think the sustaining capital and the operating cost base of the businesses because on our numbers, your capacity to generate extraordinary free cash flow in this environment continues. But clearly, the market is not giving you credit for that. So we're just trying to figure out where the gap is.

Matthew Lucey

All right. So in regards to why have any debt at all? We have a view that it makes -- again, it's prudent. It makes a lot of sense to maintain access to the capital markets. So we have 2 pieces of paper now. We have a $500 million bond and a $550 million convertible bond. But what we've done over the last year is if you look at our historical interest expense, it's been roughly $175 million a year. The interest expense on those 2 pieces of paper is less than $40 million, $37.5 million a year. So we've dramatically reduced the cost of the fixed charge of carrying the debt. And I think it's absolutely appropriate for our company to maintain access to the capital markets. So that is what really drove the decision to maintain the instruments that we have in place. And I think it just makes the company stronger going forward and maximizes optionality going forward.

In regards to your second question, Martinez, the issue with Martinez is completely behind us. In fact, Martinez just completed its turnaround on its hydrocracker on time. And so in terms of having the full force and effect of our business, we have it. We think we have real tailwinds. The required spending, there's no material change going forward. '27 will be a heavier turnaround schedule than most years. It's never ratable. It's never perfectly ratable, and we were able to move some turnarounds from this year because of the market we've been in. So -- but there's nothing changed. I would say 2027 is probably a higher turnaround year. And actually, I know '28 is going to be a lighter turnaround year. But was there anything else specific you want in regards to that?

Douglas George Blyth Leggate

Well, I think really what I'm driving at, Matt, is obviously, you've had your business optimization, the benefits coming through there, but you -- we haven't really seen a clean year for capital with Martinez back up and running. So what I was really trying to get to was what is the call on your cash flow to maintain the business, including turnarounds and the operating cost post the business improvement initiatives that you've had underway -- you can take it offline if necessary but I wanted to --

Matthew Lucey

No, I think it's important to address. Happy to. Mike, why don't you speak to the success that we've had with RBI and how that will play out over '27.

Michael A. Bukowski

So as you look at -- so as we said, RBI was $230 million, and that was broken down between capital and OpEx. So we said that roughly $70 million was going to come out of capital and $160 million was going to come out of OpEx. So let's talk about OpEx first. When we contemplated this program back in the tail end of 2024, there was a couple of things that happened that we didn't anticipate. One, as you mentioned, was the Martinez. And so that delayed some of the savings. And then the other thing that happened was the market that we've had in the past couple of months or past quarters or so.

So as I look at the OpEx, we're like we're maybe about 10%, maybe $8 million to $10 million of savings shy for this year. But then you flip that and look at the capital and the turnarounds, we're up about $20 million. And so net-net, we're meeting our commitment. Turnaround is an interesting thing, and it's difficult to measure year-on-year. As Matt said, it's not usually ratable. But one thing that we look at is we benchmark every turnaround. And prior to kicking off RBI, we were in the bottom half of the industry in terms of our turnaround cost performance. And we put a lot of things together in place in 2024 to get better, to get predictable first and foremost. And then 2026, we focused on competitive. And now '26 current performance is in the top half of the industry benchmarks.

And then when you look at sustaining capital, we took a baseline of where we were spending sustaining capital before, and it was about $230 million, and we saved about $25 million to $30 million on that. So it will change from year-to-year based on the size and the complexity of the turnarounds. So it's not always ratable. And as Matt mentioned, next year is going to be one of our larger turnarounds because of our 2 deferrals that we had into this year. But we continue to make continuous improvement on both the OpEx and the capital side. So that's how we look at it.

Matthew Lucey

And just one final comment -- in that regard, which is we're just stacking these wins, right? So the reduction in interest expense, the RBI savings on the operating cost side, the RBI savings on the capital side, the margin improvement in projects such as the Chalmette jet production. Each one of these is deepening the keel and making our company more resilient. And obviously, it will make us more profitable through -- not only through down cycles, but through up cycles as well.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Joe Laetsch?with Morgan Stanley.

Joseph Laetsch

So I wanted to start on the refining side. And within the regions, one of the areas that came in stronger than we had expected was the West Coast. Could you just talk a bit about how those assets are running post turnaround? And then also what you're seeing just on the ground in that market from a demand perspective as well?

Matthew Lucey

Paul, do you want to quickly comment on demand?

Paul Davis

I mean, look, West Coast demand has been resilient. We -- even with these volatile prices that we've seen in the marketplace out there, it's been remarkably resilient. Our wholesale numbers have gone up actually a little bit. We think that's probably some branded going to wholesale. But in general, from a demand standpoint, West Coast has been pretty steady over the last 12 months.

Matthew Lucey

I think broadly on the marketplace, I think our assets are -- now that we're fully up and running with a very clean runway, we're very, very well positioned in the marketplace. And as we've talked about for multiple quarters, it's on the product side, it is a market that requires massive imports into the state just to balance. But importantly, on the crude side as well, where we have not only the 2 refineries, we have our M-70 pipeline where we can maximize our access to California-grade crudes. And obviously, some production has come online, some new production has come online this year. So I think as a competitive positioning, PBF and our access and exposure to California looks very, very attractive going forward.

Joseph Laetsch

That's helpful. And then just looking into the fourth quarter, I recognize it's still early in the quarter, and there's a lot of volatility in the market. But could you maybe just walk through some of the puts and takes that you're thinking about on capture relative to 3Q, in particular. How should we think about the benefit from the wider WCS differentials? anything on crude backwardation, secondary product margins that you all are watching? Any color you can provide would be helpful.

Matthew Lucey

Sure. So we're further into the quarter on crude than we are on products just because you buy your crude in advance. And so I think my expectation for the fourth quarter is to have widening crude gaps, which obviously are quite impactful to our business. I think it will be folly for us to predict prompt cracks. Obviously, 1/3 through the quarter, they have been quite strong. And indeed, just my sneak peek into what October looks like, it looks quite strong. But going forward, as we talked about, a [ turn ] around the world is achieved today, none of the problems are solved on the product side. That being said, prompt prices and prompt cracks can jump around, but the fourth quarter looks obviously very constructive with the backdrop we have.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Phillip Jungwirth with BMO.

Phillip Jungwirth

Really strong results. Sticking with the fourth quarter, throughput guidance is really strong. I was looking back, and I think there's only one other quarter in PBF history where you were above the midpoint. Obviously, no turnarounds planned, but I was just hoping you could speak to the level of confidence in the system and just what's allowing you to run at a higher rate into the year-end? And separately, is there the ability to run a heavier crude slate into 4Q, just given the continued weakness in differentials? And if so, could you push a higher distillate yield also?

Matthew Lucey

I promise you, we will run the most economic grades that we can get our hand on and push our system in that regard. So there's nothing to discuss on that front other than we will absolutely maximize our economic outcome based on the crudes that are available. And so I'm sorry, your first question was in regards to throughput. The market is dictating it to a great degree. Generally speaking, you do have turnarounds in the fourth quarter. And generally speaking, the market doesn't always incent max runs. But obviously, the world is desperate for our products, and we intend to manufacture as many as we can in this period.

Phillip Jungwirth

Great. And then coming back to the sourcing of California crude, you referenced your advantageous pipeline into Torrance. But more specifically, how would you see any San Pablo Bay pipeline restart changing crude sourcing at Martinez? And just with the election coming up, how would you characterize current regulatory environment in California? And any expectation whether this could change for better or worse depending on the outcome of the governor election?

Matthew Lucey

Yes. The pipeline one is a funny one only because, as I mentioned before, we have space on our M-70 pipeline. And so now I think the San Pablo pipeline has been sold. So I don't yet know what the new owner's full intent is. But from PBF perspective, we get this a fair amount in California. When are we going to open San Pablo? It's like if you own a hotel in a town and you've got 20% vacancy and someone is saying, "Well, are you going to build a new hotel?" Well, when vacancy becomes a problem, we'll look to increase flows. Obviously, Martinez sits at the end of the San Pablo Bay pipeline. And to the degree that our M-70 pipeline is full, we would certainly look to bring crudes up to Martinez.

But at the moment, you've gotten a lot of legislation through California, which has decreased the friction in getting permits for the producers. So to the degree that production increases, I think the San Pablo Bay pipeline is sitting there in a perfect spot to take incremental grades that can't be taken south. But simply, egress is not the constraint at the moment. It is production. In regards to the election, it's not worth me prognosticating, but I don't see any material shift in the sort of the California political environment.

I do think there's been a great awakening in terms of how important and impactful and how necessary our products are to the economy and to the welfare of all the people that live there. So I think that's a very good thing. I don't see that backtracking. And clearly, California was a microcosm of what the world is going through now. So we'll see where the election goes. We've had a tremendous partnership with the state over the last couple of years sort of navigating all the changes that have existed, and we look forward to working with them going forward regardless of whoever the administration is.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Josiah Knight with Goldman Sachs.

Josiah Knight

Maybe just circling back on freight rates. Can you talk about how exposed to the elevated rates we're seeing in the system or in the market right now? And additionally, what steps have you been taking to mitigate these impacts?

Matthew Lucey

So if you think about freight rates for PBF, you think about supplying crude into the East Coast and into Northern California. We have about half of our fleet on time charter, which has obviously insulated us from the massive gyrations that are occurring. And we have closer proximity to much of the rest of the world in regards to where we're delivering our crude from. And obviously, we are in a freight firestorm at the moment. So I don't envision any material changes to that because this is not the time in which you want to go out and get more time charters. But -- so to a great degree, and it's PBF for certain. And to a great degree, U.S. refining is dramatically in a better place than, say, Asia in that regard because of the distance that they have to go. As Tom O'Connor always points out, the Atlantic Basin is -- has crude avail. And so our transit time is much shorter.

Josiah Knight

That's helpful. And then the follow-up is just on the delayed turnarounds at Chalmette and Toledo. Can you just remind us of the decision-making process here? And then additionally, how should we be framing out the impact of '27 throughput and then '27 CapEx?

Matthew Lucey

So we're not going to get into specific CapEx guidance yet. We usually put that out at a different time, we'll follow that. I mean in regards to the turnaround, it's no different than how we run our business every single day, which is evaluating the condition of our units, which are continuously and meticulously sort of evaluated on a day-by-day basis. And to the degree that we can optimize our turnarounds and our operations, that's what our job is. Mike, do you want to comment in regards to -- anything else in regards to turnarounds?

Michael A. Bukowski

I think you nailed it right there, and particularly in Toledo, as we stated on the call the last time. We had some downtime -- unplanned downtime in May, and we took advantage of going after a few things during that downtime to set us up to be in a position to defer this turnaround into next year. So there's an example of -- we're not just -- we're being applying rigor and discipline, analyzing performance in the unit, picking things and then moving forward.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of John Royall with Piper Sandler.

John Royall

So my first question is on the performance of SBR. Obviously, it's a very positive macro for RD, but it looks like a really strong quarter on that equity earnings line for 3Q. Can you talk about that unit kind of operationally, how it's running and what feedstocks look like? And secondly, are you taking any dividend out of that JV right now? Just trying to understand the cash impact given that business is having a more meaningful contribution right now.

Joseph Marino

Sure. I'll start with the dividend. We did receive our first dividend distribution from SBR during the quarter of about $20 million that is reflected in the results. As far as operations, it's been running well. You can see we're at the top end of our throughput guidance for Q3. So everything going well there. Our feedstock slate obviously changes over time, although we try to source the most economic feet there, and it will move between the higher and lower CI. And I think for Q3, it was more in the lower CI level, which helped from a margin capture standpoint. But overall, as I said in my remarks, the strong margins there, the tightening of the HOBO spread and the RINs price kind of maintaining at high levels has helped to really charge the earnings of that business.

John Royall

And then my follow-up is on bringing the hydrogen plants back in-house. And I realize you touched on this in 2Q a little bit, but how should we expect to see the returns on that kind of investment? Is it just about reliability and reducing downtime? Does it reduce OpEx overall? Just trying to understand maybe how to model that acquisition. And also, I think there were a few others that were sold to Air Products when you did that initial transaction a few years ago. Was there any thought to bringing those back in-house as well?

Matthew Lucey

Just on your last piece, just on the last piece, I don't expect there to be any other. Torrance was a bit unique because of where it was situated within our refinery and the way it was being operated. Mike, why don't you walk through it?

Michael A. Bukowski

Yes. So jump on that point. The uniqueness of it was that they were so integrated to the operation of the facility where we shared utilities. The hydrogen plant was a major steam producer, for instance, for the refinery. And so any impact to the operation of the hydrogen plant and because of that refinery so beholden to hydrogen in terms of being able to perform and maximize the refinery had all kinds of impacts. And I would look at it like this. When we did the acquisition, it was firmly just based on increasing the utilization of the refinery. And in the past, because of either planned or unplanned downtime associated with those hydrogen plants and the lack of integrated plants really drove the performance of the refinery. So I would look at it, it's mainly just the utilization.

Joseph Marino

One thing I would add from a modeling standpoint is nothing changed with the transaction as far as the cash flows go or overall cash flows. It's just really a change in the classification with now -- in the past, it was classified as operating leases and would flow through as such in the P&L. Now it's going to be a debt promissory note that will flow through financing activities. But the cash flows itself remain the same.

Operator

We have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. And I will now turn the call over to Matt Lucey for closing remarks.

Matthew Lucey

Thanks for everyone's attention today, and we look forward to speaking to you after a very solid fourth quarter. Have a great day.

Operator

This concludes today's conference, and you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you all for your participation.