Governor Gavin Newsom continues to blame fuel refiners for California’s highest-in-the-nation fuel prices. He couldn't be more wrong. The problem and solution to much of California’s fuel price challenge can be found in Sacramento policy. Take a look to better understand the role of policy in regional price differences, why it’s inaccurate to equate “margins” or “refinery cracks” with “profits,” and why windfall profit taxes are a known policy failure.
The United States has the most complex and efficient refining industry in the world, but we also have less refining capacity than we used to. Where the issue of refining capacity is concerned, it’s important to understand what refining capacity is, why we’ve lost capacity in the United States and how policies can advance the competitiveness of our refineries in the global market.
AFPM opposes the Inflation Reduction Act as written. We evaluated the bill against our core principles, specifically whether the legislation would support strong U.S. refining and petrochemical industries and whether it pursued emissions reductions in a market-based and cost-effective manner. Unfortunately, the IRA falls short of these goals.
Thursday, August 18, AFPM President and CEO Chet Thompson sent a letter to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) making...
The U.S. petrochemical industry has a crucial and enduring role to play in meeting the needs of a growing world population while simultaneously fulfilling the imperative to produce petrochemicals in a sustainable and clean manner.
SPR releases cannot be the center of this Administration’s strategy to confront inflation and high energy prices. At best, SPR releases are a short-term fix, they are not a solution. Stability and certainty is what global crude oil markets crave.
As we approach the 2022 hurricane season, experts are predicting yet another severe year, with some saying it will compare to last year. No one knows how accurate these predictions will be, but we can...
To address freight rail concerns, leaders from LyondellBasell and the Surface Transportation Board (STB) held discussions and toured LyondellBasell’s facility in Morris, Illinois. LyondellBasell’s Morris Complex is unique in that it is served by more than one major rail carrier. Nearly 80 percent of U.S. refineries and petrochemical facilities operate in regions served by just one freight rail provider.
AFPM President and CEO Chet Thompson and API President and CEO Mike Sommers sent a letter to President Biden responding to recent letters the Administration sent to major U.S. fuel refiners suggesting that these companies, their workforces and facilities throughout the country aren’t doing their part to bring fuel to the market and lower energy costs for consumers.
We are surprised and disappointed by the President’s letter. Any suggestion that U.S. refiners are not doing our part to bring stability to the market is false. We would encourage the Administration to look inward to better understand the role their policies and hostile rhetoric have played in the current environment.
