America’s oil refiners are preparing to intensify efforts to press the federal government to drop mandates to encourage the development of advanced biofuels and counter the Obama administration’s “war on fossil fuels.”
The Renewable Portfolio Standard requires that 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel be blended with petroleum-based products by 2022 under the Bush-era Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Keep reading →
While gas prices soar to record levels, many U.S. refineries that make and sell gasoline are going broke. Nearly 50% of the refining capacity on the East Coast has either shut down or may shut down within the next few months. If gas shortages develop due to the closed refineries, East Coast drivers could face higher prices than they otherwise would later this year. Sunoco , which closed its Philadelphia-area Marcus Hook refinery in December and is trying to sell another facility nearby, said its refining businesses has been losing $1 million dollars a day for three years running.
Depending on who you ask, the impending closure of a major Philadelphia refinery will either increase U.S. vulnerability to a terrorist attack on its energy supply, or simply shift demand to other suppliers of petroleum products.
Senior officials from federal energy and homeland security departments debated the loss of U.S. refining capacity with industry representatives and politicians at a field hearing of a Congressional committee outside Philadelphia on Monday. Keep reading →
The planned closure of Sunoco’s Philadelphia refinery, which accounts for a quarter of the US East Coast’s capacity, looks set to constrain supplies of diesel, heating oil, and perhaps gasoline, while pushing prices higher.
The projected shutdown, due to take effect in July if no buyer is found, was highlighted by the Energy Information Administration in a February 27 report saying petroleum product markets in the Northeast could be “significantly impacted” if the closure goes ahead. Keep reading →
The possible permanent closure of three eastern Pennsylvania refineries would make the region more dependent on outside sources for petroleum products and force marketers to overhaul supply chains for gasoline, diesel heating oil, jet fuel and lubricants, state legislators heard on Monday.
But closure isn’t likely to have a big effect on prices or supply on the US East Coast because alternative sources such as the Gulf Coast, higher overseas imports and increased pipeline shipments from the Midwest will be found, according to a new study presented to lawmakers. Keep reading →
Jared Anderson
Conway Irwin
Peter Gardett