Refining

AFPM Senior Director of Fuels & Vehicle Policy Patrick Kelly today issued the following statement on EPA's announcement that it will grant requests from eight Midwestern states to remove the 1.0 psi RVP waiver from summertime gasoline effective next year. If implemented, these states will no longer be able to sell the current blend of summertime gasoline and a new grade of gasoline will need to be manufactured and supplied to the region.

Eight midwestern governors have petitioned the EPA seeking to opt their states out of the federal 1-pound Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver which is a requirement to sell the current summertime blend of E10 gasoline. If these requests are granted, the E10 gasoline currently sold in most of the country during summer months will no longer be offered for sale in these states and annual costs to introduce a new gasoline bend will range from $500-$800 million each year.

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."

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 Senior Director of Fuels and Vehicle Policy, Patrick Kelly, testified during the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) public hearing on the proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) “Set” Rule. EPA’s proposal will stifle advanced biofuels, promote first generation biofuels beyond the market’s ability to absorb them and shift overall RFS growth away from liquid biofuels and into the power electricity sector. This is completely contrary to how congress envisioned EPA’s handling of the program.

AFPM's Geoff Moody issued the following statement responding to the EPA's 2023-2025 proposal for RFS blending obligations: “Congress provided EPA the ability to modernize the RFS and set it on a more sustainable course for all stakeholders. Sadly, EPA’s proposal is a missed opportunity..."

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.

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."