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Stopgap on RFS requested by API

Hydrocarbon Engineering,


In a conference call, API Downstream Group Director Bob Greco told reporters that the EPA must lower increasing ethanol mandates in its RFS proposal for 2014 in order to protect consumers and the US economy from a looming disaster until Congress can repeal the program once and for all.

Comments from Greco
‘Rigid mandates of the RFS have no place in today’s energy market…The RFS was based on gasoline use rising significantly when the opposite is occurring…In what is termed the ethanol blend wall, consumers are now faced with putting more ethanol in their tanks than their engines were designed to accommodate…We cannot allow the outdated RFS mandate to harm consumers or put our nation’s economy at risk. That’s why we need EPA to act immediately to provide relief for consumers while we continue to work with Congress to enact a full repeal.

‘In our meetings with EPA and OMB officials, we’ve asked the agency to set 2014 total ethanol requirements at or below 9.7% of projected gasoline demand. By EIA’s latest project, that would mean lowering the mandate to 12.9 billion gall. of ethanol. This would help us avoid the ethanol blend wall for now while also preserving the availability of ethanol free gasoline for consumers who demand it, especially boaters and owners of older vehicles and motorcycles.

‘We also continue to demand that EPA base its cellulosic mandates on actual production rather than projections that, year after year, have fallen far short of reality. Finally, we’re prepared to file suit should EPA fail to finalise the 2014 requirements by the statutory deadline of November 30th.’

Passing the blend wall could cause a drastic reduction in America’s fuel supply, possibly leading to dramatic fuel cost increases and fuel supply disruptions rippling adversely through the economy, according to a study by NERA Economic Consulting.

Adapted from press release by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/25102013/rfs_stopgap_requested/

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