WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers’ (AFPM) President Chet Thompson remarks on the Obama Administration’s decision to deny the permits needed to complete the last leg of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
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.
Russian crude oil accounts for just three percent of U.S. crude oil imports and about one percent of total crude oil processed by U.S. refineries. Even still, Russian crude oil imports are important to refineries on the West Coast and Gulf Coast for some distinct reasons. Read more on this topic from AFPM’s industry analysts in their recent assessment: “U.S. Imports of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products from Russia.”
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.
To produce essential goods for U.S. and global consumers, AFPM members need a safe, reliable and efficient rail system to move materials to and from refineries and petrochemical facilities.
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.
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.
Restricting exports would be a major unforced error for the President, tightening global fuel supplies, throttling U.S. fuel production and increasing costs for American consumers. Likewise, imposing product inventory requirements boils down to siphoning gasoline and diesel into storage, and away from consumers.
Rob Benedict, AFPM’s Vice President of Midstream and Petrochemicals, issued the following statement after Congress passed, and President Biden signed, a resolution to avoid a nationwide rail strike.