Preem has now become VAROPreem – a leading European energy company formed through the merger of Varo Energy and Preem AB.
Turn insight into impact. As our next Refinery Economist, you’ll translate process performance and market dynamics into decisions that maximize refinery value.
About The Role
As a Refinery Economist, you drive short‑term value by steering operations toward the most profitable outcomes. You balance market conditions, crude selection, product mix and unit constraints, translating plans into optimized daily and weekly targets.
Using the LP model, you assess margins, netbacks and scenarios, identify gaps and unrealized value, and drive corrective actions to improve profitability in both steady state and disruptions.
You connect technology and business, turning complex analysis into clear, actionable decisions. Working closely with production, engineering, planning, supply and commercial teams, you also contribute to crude evaluation, business planning and strategic studies.
This is a permanent position based at our refinery in Lysekil.
Key Responsibilities
- Maximize short‑term refinery value by continuously updating and optimizing production strategies based on market conditions, crude economics and operational constraints.
- Run, maintain and interpret the LP model to optimize crude slate, product yields, unit utilization and overall margin performance.
- Analyze netbacks, margins and relative production costs to support daily and weekly economic decision‑making.
- Develop economically optimized production plans on a weekly and monthly horizon, ensuring alignment with commercial and operational priorities.
- Conduct scenario and sensitivity analyses for operating modes, crude selections, campaigns and unit constraints to identify the most value‑accretive options.
- Identify deviations from plan, quantify margin impacts and drive corrective actions together with operations and engineering.
- Set and communicate clear economic targets, ensuring cross‑functional alignment and understanding of value drivers.
- Support crude evaluation, business planning, turnaround planning and strategic studies with economic analysis and modelling insights.
- Enhance optimization capabilities by contributing to LP model development, constraint management and continuous improvement of optimization methodologies.
Your Background These are the core capabilities required to succeed in the role:
- University degree in Chemical Engineering, Energy, Industrial Engineering, Process Engineering or another relevant technical field
- Experience from refining, petrochemicals, energy or other complex process industries (e.g., operations, planning, process engineering, optimization or economic analysis)
- Strong analytical ability and experience working with technical, operational or commercial data
- Experience in optimization, production planning or decision‑support in an industrial environment
- High proficiency in Excel and strong overall system capability
- Ability to communicate complex analysis clearly to both technical and commercial stakeholders
- Fluency in Swedish and English (minimum CEFR C1)
These Will Strengthen Your Application But Are Not Required
- Experience with LP modelling (PIMS, AspenTech, Haverly) or other optimization/simulation tools
- Knowledge of refinery economics, crude evaluation, margin analysis or netback calculations
- Experience in supply chain, scheduling, trading support or commercial analysis
- Familiarity with constraint management, scenario modelling or sensitivity analysis
- Experience from international environments or multi‑site industrial operations
- Understanding of energy markets, product specifications or regulatory frameworks
- Skills in data analytics or programming (Python, Power BI, SQL or similar)
What We Offer
You will be part of VAROPreem, an organization where technical expertise, accountability, and continuous development are core values. You will work in an international industrial environment with high standards for safety, availability, and quality—where your expertise will have a direct impact on both production performance and future energy solutions.
This is an opportunity to work in one of the most advanced process industries in the Nordics and contribute to the development of future energy systems.
Who You Are
You are analytical, structured and thrive where technology and business intersect. You quickly understand complex relationships and translate analysis into clear, commercially sound decisions. You communicate confidently, challenge constructively and build alignment across functions. The role requires precision, resilience and a collaborative mindset.
Next Steps
Apply as soon as possible and no later than June 12 th 2026 by submitting your CV and completing the application questions. We use assessments to ensure objective evaluation. As we apply continuous selection, the position may be filled before the deadline.
If you have any questions about the role, please contact Joel Widlund, Head of Planning & Optimisation Lysekil joel.widlund@varopreem.se. For recruitment‑related questions, contact Hanna Gahnhed, HR Recruitment Partner, see contact below.
Union representatives are available: here
As VAROPreem operates within critical infrastructure, background checks and alcohol/drug testing will be conducted prior to employment. Security clearance may be required in accordance with the Swedish Security Protection Act.
