Petroleum Representatives Candidly Express Contempt for RFS2
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) A panel of petroleum trade association representatives gathered together for the National Biodiesel Conference’s opening general session on Feb. 6. While the group consisted of five oil association representatives, several of whom are outspokenly partial to biodiesel, Charles Drevna, president of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers Association (formerly the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association), promptly took center stage with his cut-to-the-quick remarks about biodiesel, ethanol, RIN integrity, the renewable fuel standard (RFS2) and more.
Drevna told the biodiesel crowd that RFS2 is very narrow from a biodiesel industry perspective. “But when refiners look at it,” he said, “they have to look at the whole thing,” meaning the four buckets of conventional, cellulosic, advanced and biomass-based diesel. “And it’s not working as intended,” Drevna added.
When 20-plus percent of the oil industry’s market is mandated away, that’s not good, he expressed.
…Drevna was quick to bring up the shutdown of two refineries on the East Coast, stating that the halt in operations was a result of RFS2 taking away more than 20 percent of the market by 2022. Maniscalco countered that by offering other reasons such as issues surrounding Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate, desulfurization requirements, the age of the refinery equipment and more. READ MORE
