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.
EPA’s blanket denial of relief for small refineries is a political decision that contradicts Congress’s design for the RFS. We are deeply disappointed in this and in the precedent it sets for small refineries experiencing hardship and the communities and regions that rely on these facilities for energy security.
Boyd Stephenson, senior vice president of government affairs and counsel at the National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC), joins the podcast to discuss the trucking industry and US highway infrastructure.
Publicly owned companies, like many U.S. refineries, have a fiduciary responsibility (which is a legal obligation) to act in the best interest of their shareholders, and that extends to how companies spend their earnings. Often, earnings are spent on a combination of the following: direct dividends, stock buy back programs, paying down debt and capital investment projects.
AFPM President and CEO Chet Thompson issued the following statement in response to President Biden’s State of the Union address: "Using the State of the Union to politicize market fundamentals and single out stock “buy back” programs—while overlooking the fact that the Biden administration’s own policies discourage the reinvestment of earnings back into the U.S. liquid fuel supply chain—cheapens the dialog for everyone."
AFPM issued the following statement on the passage of California legislation that will empower the state’s unelected bureaucracy to impose an effective windfall tax and massive regulatory burden on the state’s remaining refineries. "...Add this legislative cocktail to the list of self-inflicted policy wounds for a state already bleeding people."
AFPM's Alex Adams talks with Doug Parker, the head of E&W Strategies and a former head of EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, about the failings of the RIN market that allows this fraud to take place - and how changing the point of obligation can tackle this.
AFPM President and CEO Chet Thompson issued the following statement in response to the White House’s latest announcement of a release of crude oil from the SPR: “The SPR was never meant to serve as a substitute for actual crude oil production. At best, SPR releases are a short-term fix, not a long-term solution or signal of stability to a market craving reassurance..."
Earnings in commodities-based industries tend to be cyclical. Because of the up-and-down reality of refining, it would be a mistake to regulate or legislate based on the high points. A few quarters of earnings don’t provide an accurate representation. That context is important for answering the question of what happens with refinery profits and whether using earnings to “buy back” stock from shareholders is an appropriate use of those funds.
