As Hurricane Florence approaches the East Coast, Carolina communities are preparing for the Category 3 storm to make landfall – while nearly two million residents are under warning to evacuate.
As Hurricane Florence approached the East Coast this week, nearly two million residents throughout the Carolinas, Maryland and Virginia were placed under evacuation watch.
One of America’s major strengths when it comes to the economy and global trade is our petrochemical industry, which produces the building blocks used in manufacturing supply chains across the globe.
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.
AFPM President and CEO Chet Thompson issued the following statement regarding President Biden’s suggestion that a Windfall Profit Tax should be considered to address fuel supplies and prices: “Once again, the President is more worried about political posturing before the Midterms than he is about advancing energy policies that will actually deliver for the American people."
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.
AFPM President and CEO Chet Thompson issued the following statement: "AFPM applauds the United States Trade Representative (USTR) for elevating this important matter. Mexico’s policies toward American energy companies need to be addressed in the spirit of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA). American refiners have made significant investments in Mexico-based operations, jobs and infrastructure and we want our trade relationships with Mexico to remain healthy and mutually beneficial.”
Some policymakers are rumored to be considering a ban on crude oil and/or U.S. refined product exports. This would be a mistake. Ending U.S. crude oil or refined product exports won’t help U.S. consumers by lowering prices at pump. In fact, it could make things even worse. Let’s take a closer look at how a refined product export ban would affect gasoline and diesel supplies and, thus, prices in the United States and around the world.
Refinery utilization, measures how much crude oil refineries are processing or “running” as a percentage of their maximum capacity. It tells us roughly how much of our refining muscle is being put to work manufacturing fuel. American refineries are running full-out, at about 95% of total capacity, contributing more fuel—gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, etc.—to the global market than any other country. In fact, U.S. refineries process more crude oil every day than the United States produces, and we make more finished fuels than the United States consumes.