Marathon Weighs Selling High-Ethanol Gas in Minnesota

by Mario Parker and Jennifer A Dlouhy (Bloomberg) Company acquired Andeavor this month to become largest refiner; Trump promised to allow year-round sales of E15 gasoline -- Marathon Petroleum Corp., the largest U.S. oil refiner following its $23.3 billion acquisition of rival Andeavor this month, is weighing a plan to start sales of high-ethanol gasoline at its stations in Minnesota, according to people familiar with the matter.

If Marathon’s plan takes off, it would be the biggest refining company to offer the fuel.

Part of the reason E15 has so far been limited to smaller retailers is because current rules blocked its sale from June 1 to Sept. 15 in areas where smog is a problem. Ethanol advocates say the hassle and cost of changing gas pumps and labels seasonally has dissuaded some filling stations from offering the fuel. Marathon’s plans could signal a change is coming after Trump signed a memo last week telling the Environmental Protection Agency to lift summertime E15 restrictions.

But the EPA is only planning on introducing a formal proposal to make the change next February, leaving little time before those fueling restrictions would normally kick in. There may also be years of additional uncertainty as oil industry leaders have vowed to sue, arguing that the EPA doesn’t have legal authority to waive E15 from air pollution requirements without further action from Congress.

The fraught timeline could slow expansion of E15, at least in the short term, if it discourages retailers that need to install infrastructure to sell the blend.

Even given the limitations, E15 sales have surged in Minnesota. A state program helped underwrite the cost of installing specialized blender pumps at filling stations. The gains also came as some higher-profile retailers, including Holiday Stationstores and QuikTrip Corp., began offering E15 in the state, said Ashwin Raman, vice president of communications at the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association. READ MORE