Inventories

Inventory consists of the following components:



	December 31,
	2018			2017
	(In thousands)
Crude oil	$	503,705		$	581,417
Other raw materials and unfinished products⁽¹⁾	360,124			396,618
Finished products⁽²⁾	662,713			655,336
Lower of cost or market reserve	(360,138		)	(223,833		)
Process chemicals⁽³⁾	31,413			24,792
Repairs and maintenance supplies and other ⁽⁴⁾	156,562			195,762
Total inventory	$	1,354,379		$	1,630,092


(1)	Other raw materials and unfinished products include feedstocks and blendstocks, other than crude.


(2)	Finished products include gasolines, jet fuels, diesels, lubricants, asphalts, LPG’s and residual fuels.


(3)	Process chemicals include additives and other chemicals.


(4)	Includes RINs

Our inventories that are valued at the lower of LIFO cost or market reflect a valuation reserve of $360.1 million and $223.8 million at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The December 31, 2017 market reserve of $223.8 million was reversed due to the sale of inventory quantities that gave rise to the 2017 reserve. A new market reserve of $360.1 million was established as of December 31, 2018 based on market conditions and prices at that time. The effect of the change in the lower of cost or market reserve was an increase to cost of products sold of $136.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 and a decrease of $108.7 million and $291.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

At December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, the LIFO value of inventory, net of the lower of cost or market reserve, was equal to current costs. For the year ended December 31, 2018, we recognized a charge of $49.6 million to cost of products sold as we liquidated certain quantities of LIFO inventory that were carried at historical acquisition costs above market prices at the time of liquidation.

During the three months ended June 30, 2018, the EPA granted the Woods Cross Refinery a one-year small refinery exemption from the Renewable Fuel Standard (“RFS”) program requirements for the 2017 calendar year end. As a result, the Woods Cross Refinery’s gasoline and diesel production are not subject to the Renewable Volume Obligation (“RVO”) for 2017. In the second quarter of 2018, we increased our inventory of RINs and reduced our cost of products sold by $25.3 million, representing the net cost of the Woods Cross Refinery’s RINs charge to cost of products sold in 2017, less the loss incurred for selling 2017 vintage RINs in excess of those which we can use subject to the 20% carryover limit.

During the three months ended March 31, 2018, the EPA granted the Cheyenne Refinery a one-year small refinery exemption from the RFS program requirements for the 2015 and 2017 calendar years end. As a result, the Cheyenne Refinery’s gasoline and diesel production are not subject to the RVO for those years. At the date we received the 2017 Cheyenne Refinery exemption, we had not yet retired RINs to satisfy the 2017 RVO, which we intended to satisfy, in part, with 2016 vintage RINs subject to the 20% carryover limit. In the first quarter of 2018, we increased our inventory of RINs and reduced our cost of products sold by $37.9 million, representing the net cost of the Cheyenne Refinery’s RINs charged to cost of products sold in 2017, less the loss incurred from selling 2016 vintage RINs prior to their expiration in 2018.

In the first quarter of 2018, the EPA provided us 2018 vintage RINs to replace the RINs previously retired to meet the Cheyenne Refinery’s 2015 RVO. In the first quarter of 2018, we increased our inventory of RINs and reduced our cost of products sold by $33.8 million representing the fair value of the 2018 replacement RINs obtained from the Cheyenne Refinery’s exemption of its 2015 RVO.

In May 2017, the EPA granted the Cheyenne Refinery a one-year small refinery exemption from the RFS program requirements for the 2016 calendar year. As a result, the Cheyenne Refinery’s gasoline and diesel production are not subject to the RVO for 2016. In September 2017, the EPA reinstated the RINs previously retired to meet our Cheyenne Refinery’s 2016 RVO. The cost of the RINs used earlier to satisfy the Cheyenne Refinery’s 2016 RVO of $30.5 million was charged to cost of products sold in 2016. In the second quarter of 2017, we increased our inventory of RINs and reduced our cost of products sold by this amount, representing the cost of the RINs that were reinstated as a result of the RFS exemption received by the Cheyenne Refinery.

Additionally, in December 2017, the EPA granted the Woods Cross Refinery a one-year small refinery exemption from the RFS program requirements for the 2016 calendar year. In the fourth quarter of 2017, we increased our inventory of RINs and reduced our cost of products sold in the amount of $27.3 million, representing the cost of the RINs reinstated as a result of the RFS exemption received by the Woods Cross Refinery.

During the second quarter of 2018, the Renewable Fuel Association and three other associations sought judicial review of three hardship waivers granted by the EPA under the RFS provisions of the Clean Air Act by filing a lawsuit in the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (“Tenth Circuit”) that alleges the EPA erred in granting the waivers. This challenge includes two hardship waivers granted to our subsidiaries for the 2016 compliance year. The Tenth Circuit granted our motion to intervene in the case, thereby making us a party to this case. It is too early to assess whether the case is expected to have any impact on us.