Feb 20 (Reuters) - Refiner HF Sinclair on

Thursday posted a bigger-than-expected loss for the fourth

quarter, becoming the latest energy company to take a hit from

weak refining margins and rising global capacity.

Bigger rivals Valero Energy ( VLO ) and Marathon

Petroleum ( MPC ), as well as energy heavyweights such as Exxon

Mobil ( XOM ), have seen

refining profits normalize

from 2022 peaks, when a post-pandemic demand recovery and

sanctions over producer Russia's invasion of Ukraine had boosted

fuel prices.

U.S. refinery margins, measured by the 3-2-1 crack spread

, averaged $16.66 in the October-December quarter,

down nearly 25% from a year earlier.

HF Sinclair's ( DINO ) refinery adjusted margin shrank to $6.86 per

produced barrel in the fourth quarter, from $13.58 a year

earlier, due to weakness in the West and Mid-Continent regions

caused by excess global fuel supplies hurting prices.

Overall sales of products that the company refines crude

into, such as gasoline and diesel, fell 9.4% from the previous

quarter to 596,800 barrels per day (bpd).

That pulled down revenues by 15% to $6.5 billion in the

quarter.

However, the company's lubricants and midstream segments

performed better than last year.

Adjusted profit in the lubricants segment grew thanks to

a decrease in feedstock inventory charges, while the midstream

segment benefited from higher tariffs charged to transport

crude.

On an adjusted basis, the Dallas-based company reported a

loss of $1.02 per share for the quarter ended December, compared

with analysts' estimates for a loss of 90 cents, according to

data compiled by LSEG.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb

Chakrabarty and Devika Syamnath)