May 8 (Reuters) - Refiner HF Sinclair beat Wall

Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped

by tight fuel supplies due to refinery shutdowns in Russia and

heavy maintenance in the U.S.

Fuel supplies have tightened this year following outages at

Russian refineries after Ukrainian drone attacks shut a

significant section of Russia's refining capacity during the

quarter.

HF Sinclair's ( DINO ) refinery gross margin was $12.70 per produced

barrel, a 45% decline compared to the first quarter of 2023, the

company said, as fuel prices scaled back.

The company also announced a new share buyback program of $1

billion.

The Dallas, Texas-based refiner posted adjusted net income

of 71 cents per share for the three months ended March 31,

compared with average analysts' estimate of 65 cents per share,

according to LSEG data.