“Hey, Hey, What Can I Do” – Oil Companies Looking for Ways to Survive Energy...
Part 2 – U.S. Independent Refiners In the first installment of our blog series on how the oil industry is responding to pressures pushing them to become “greener,” we profiled the various strategies...
View ArticleMidstream Energy Transition
In this third installment of our blog series on how the oil industry is responding to the energy transition, we will focus on the Midstream sector; exploring how their business will be impacted by...
View Article“Why is Everything so Heavy?” or Not? – Heavy Crude Supply/Demand Outlook
We’re pretty sure the Alt Rock group, Linkin Park, wasn’t thinking about crude quality supply/demand dynamics when they released “Heavy,” in 2017, but many U.S. refiners have had that topic on their...
View ArticleMalcolm M. Turner
January 24, 1936 – December 28, 2021 It is with profound sadness that we inform the readers of this blog of the passing of our Founder and long-time Chairman, Malcolm Monroe Turner on December 28,...
View ArticleEPA Proposed Rule Summary: Annual RFS Compliance Volume Standards 2020, 2021,...
Going into the holiday season of 2021 was not a typical time for the industry. With three key regulatory proposals released by the Agency in late November / early December, our Fuels Regulatory...
View Article“From Russia With Love” – Impacts of Russian Sanctions on Refining Markets –...
There is no more love coming from or going to Russia since they began their brutal invasion of Ukraine in late February than there was between SPECTRE and 007 in the classic James Bond thriller from...
View ArticleHow High Can We Go (Safely)?
Administration Calls for Increased Refinery Production are Ill-Informed On June 14, President Biden sent a letter to the executives of seven oil companies: Marathon, Valero, ExxonMobil, Phillips 66,...
View ArticleU.S. Refinery Closures & Capacity Reductions
In our June 23 blog we mentioned that approximately 2 million BPD of refining capacity serving U.S. markets has been idled or reduced due to government policies and demand destruction in 2020 and...
View ArticleCARB Draft Scoping Plan Aims for Carbon Neutrality by 2045
The May 2022 Draft Scoping Plan, presented to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in June, continues to support the current 2030 greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals and lays the foundation for...
View ArticleDraft Scoping Plan Lays Path for CARB’s LCFS Program
With the recent posting of the 2022 Draft Scoping Plan, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is considering program alignment with this policy direction, including strengthening of the Low Carbon...
View ArticleRenewable Diesel and SAF Feedstock Pretreatment: The Key to Profitability?
In the race for renewable diesel facilities to come online and capture incentives for low-carbon fuel markets, pressure has been building on the supply and pricing of the feedstock market for...
View ArticleEPA Finalizes Guidance on Analytical Method for Determining Corn Kernel Fiber...
Last month, EPA posted updated technical guidance (EPA-420-B-22-041) on qualifying an analytical method for determining the amount of corn kernel fiber converted to cellulosic ethanol when co-processed...
View ArticleCARB’s Final Scoping Plan Aims for Carbon Neutrality by 2045
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will vote on the final 2022 update to the Scoping Plan at the upcoming December 15 – 16 board meeting. This plan lays the foundation for achieving California...
View ArticleTurn Up the Heat! What can be done to save the U.S. heating oil market this...
One month into the heating season it is already clear the Northeast (states from the Mid-Atlantic north to New England) heating oil market could be under stress all winter. The proverbial “perfect...
View ArticleEPA’s RFS Proposed Set Rule: Implications for the Renewable Fuels Market
On December 1st, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposed rule establishing the required Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes and associated percentage standards for 2023...
View ArticleGoing Against the Grain
While U.S. refining has seen significant capacity reductions in recent years (see Table below), largely from COVID-driven demand destruction, and the conversion of refineries into renewable fuels...
View Article“Between The Rock and a Hard Case”
The challenge of balancing refinery yields with evolving product demand. In the movie, “The Rock”, John Mason (Sean Connery) might have had U.S. refiners in mind when he said, “Well, Womack, you’re...
View ArticleWhat do the Proposed EPA RVOs Mean for the Future of RINs?
On December 1, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its proposed Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) targets for 2023, 2024, and 2025. The announcement was highly unusual on more...
View ArticleVoluntary Carbon Markets & Tokenization
The notion of cryptocurrency has come quite far in a short period of time as it has developed beyond the original idea of a digital currency to now encompass a broader range of applications across...
View ArticleWhat’s All This I’ve Been Hearing About eRINs?- Let’s Take a Ride Down the...
On December 30, 2022, EPA proposed a novel regulatory structure for producing RINs for renewable electricity (eRINs) and requiring gasoline and diesel fuel producers/importers (obligated parties) to...
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