Exclusive: Exxon Mobil Secured U.S. Hardship Waiver from Biofuels Laws - Sources

by Humeyra Pamuk and Chris Prentice (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted oil major Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) a financial hardship waiver this year temporarily freeing its Montana refinery from U.S. biofuel laws, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Exxon, which reported earnings of almost $20 billion in 2017, became the largest known company to be awarded a such a waiver by the Trump administration’s EPA under a program meant to protect the smallest fuel facilities from going bust.

Exxon’s waiver was granted before the review began, and covers its 60,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Billings, Montana, for the 2017 compliance period, said the sources, who asked not to be named.

Reuters reported earlier this year that Andeavor (MRO.N) and Chevron (CVX.N), both large and highly profitable refiners, were also granted recent EPA exemptions for their small facilities.

The EPA keeps the identities of companies receiving waivers secret, arguing the information is business sensitive. But the agency recently began publishing the numbers of exemptions granted. It said it awarded 29 exemptions to small refineries in 2018 for the 2017 compliance year so far, up from 19 for 2016 and just seven for 2015.

Biofuel backers have argued that the waiver program’s expansion was politically driven by former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, a supporter of the fossil fuels industry who sought ways to lower compliance costs for energy companies.

“That Exxon was reportedly granted a ‘small refiner’ waiver for ‘hardship’ just goes to show how abused the process has been,” he (Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)) said in an emailed statement. “There’s no good reason multibillion dollar oil refining giants should be able to skirt the law.” READ MORE