With U.S. crude oil production at its highest level since 1993, CVR Energy has raked in the profits. The petroleum refiner and fertilizer manufacturer has a refinery in Coffeyville, Kansas—120 miles north of the nation’s main oil storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma. High production created a bottleneck in Cushing, as existing transportation infrastructure couldn’t keep up with the rapidly increasing stockpiles of crude. The result was a two-year raw materials cost advantage for CVR and other refineries with access to inland crude.

CVR bought crude cheap and sold its fuels at prices set by the higher global rate. The Sugar Land, Texas-based company’s revenues increased 180% from 2009 to 2012, and last year’s profits topped $379 million. --S.G.