The return of fuel demand to pre-pandemic levels and the slower rebound of crude oil and fuel production has created concerns about whether supplies of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel will be sufficient to meet global demand. U.S. refineries are up and running at near maximum utilization. Other major refining countries, for a variety of reasons, have not kept pace bringing their facilities back into operation or resuming sales of fuel to the market. As a result, wholesale fuel prices have increased and so have refinery “crack spreads."
A Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) release—which basically involves making additional barrels of crude oil available for sale to the world market—is meant to increase global supply. Meeting today’s demand with more supply is a recipe for lower prices. The United States released millions of barrels from our SPR in the past several months, as did many other countries.
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.
The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) President and CEO Chet Thompson and American Petroleum Institute (API) President and CEO Mike Sommers today sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm raising significant concerns that the administration could pursue a ban or limits on refined petroleum products. “Banning or limiting the export of refined products would likely decrease inventory levels, reduce domestic refining capacity, put upward pressure on consumer fuel prices, and alienate U.S. allies during a time of war,” Thompson and Sommers wrote.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Statement from the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) in response to the “Unified Framework for Fixing Our Broken Tax Code” released today by congressional Republican leaders and the Trump administration.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Statement from Chet Thompson, President and CEO of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) on H.R.1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives today
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Statement from Chet Thompson, President and CEO of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) on final passage of The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Statement by American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) President Chet Thompson on the House Concurrent Resolution 112, expressing the sense of Congress opposing President Obama's proposed tax on every barrel of oil: