by Jarrett Renshaw and Siddharth Cavale (Reuters) EPA says it will announce extension in upcoming formal action; Agency aims to decide all pending small-refiner waiver requests by end of August; Small refiners sought waivers arguing it was too costly to comply with RFS
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to extend a September 1 deadline requiring oil refiners to demonstrate compliance with the nation's biofuel blending laws, the agency said in a notice seen by Reuters on Friday, a move that could help the industry reduce the cost of compliance.
The agency did not give additional details on the new deadline, but said it would be included in an upcoming formal action.
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Under the Renewable Fuel Standard, a federal program aimed at increasing renewable fuel usage, refiners were required to show they had met their 2025 biofuel blending mandates by September 1, either by generating Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) through blending biofuels into the nation's fuel supply or by purchasing those credits from other market participants.
An extension would give refiners more time to meet their obligations and could help them manage high RIN prices, which have raised compliance costs for some companies. Two sources familiar with the matter said the agency was considering between a 30- and 90-day extension.
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The agency on Friday also said it intends to issue decisions on all pending requests from smaller refiners seeking waivers from their obligations by the end of August, an issue that has put the White House in the middle of a fight between refiners and biofuel producers.
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Representatives of the refining and ethanol industries and an analyst estimated that the EPA's exemptions could free up between 1.2 billion and 1.8 billion RINs that small refiners could use to meet their 2025 compliance obligations.
EPA has previously said it could reallocate roughly 900 million RINs tied to potential exemptions. Decisions on the waiver requests had also been due by September 1. READ MORE
Related articles
- US ethanol credit prices slump after EPA delays biofuel compliance deadline (Reuters)
- ASA Sounds Alarm: Soybean Farmers Cannot Afford Another Blow to Domestic Demand (American Soybean Association)
- Uncertainty Over U.S. Biofuels Policy Muddying Outlook: CoBank (OPIS)
- Biofuels, Ag Fear RFS Exemption Surge (DTN Progressive Farmer)
- Biofuels Groups Fear Large RFS Volume Waiver As EPA Readies Decisions (Inside EPA)
- EPA Extension for Refiners Causes Uncertainty (Energy.AgWired.com)
- Reported Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Exemptions for Oil Companies Could Devastate the Recovering Biodiesel Industry (River Cities Reader)
- Massive Refinery Exemptions Would Undo Progress Under Trump’s 2026-2027 RFS Blending Levels (Iowa Renewable Fuels Association)
- Massive refinery exemptions would undo progress under Trump’s 2026-’27 RFS blending levels (Iowa Renewable Fuels Association/Biobased Diesel Daily)
- Reported RFS exemptions for oil companies could devastate recovering biodiesel industry (Iowa Biodiesel Board/Biobased Diesel Daily)
- SABR urges White House to protect domestic biodiesel production amid global diesel supply shortage (Sustainable Advanced Biofuel Refiners Coaltion/Biobased Diesel Daily)
- US ethanol credits prices fall after EPA delays biofuel deadline (World Energy News)
- Farmers Urged to Speak Out as EPA Weighs More Refinery Exemptions (Successful Farming)
- White House pushes for MORE refinery waivers to ease pump prices (Reuters)
- Ethanol Blog -- 4 State AGs Warn EPA: Granting Biofuel Exemptions to Record-Profit Refiners Violates RFS Law (DTN Progressive Farmer)
- E15 Savings Show Value of Strong RFS to American Drivers (Renewable Fuels Association)
- US officials weigh plan to shield farmers from expansion of refinery biofuel waivers, sources say (Reuters)
- Biofuels Groups Appeal To Trump Amid Fear Of Major RFS Waiver Boost (Inside EPA)
- Fears that Trump EPA will expand biofuel exemptions sparks ag state backlash (Politico Pro)
- EPA delivers final rule to extend RFS compliance deadline to White House OMB (Ethanol Producer Magazine)
- Good news, President Trump. You can slash gas prices yourself. Reducing biofuel standards could drop the price at the pump. (Heritage Foundation/Washington Post)
- US expected to approve expanded biofuel waivers as early as Monday, sources say (Reuters)
- Trump to host oil executives after accusing refiners of gouging consumers (Reuters)
- Ethanol Under Fire (Energy.AgWired.com)
-
Trump seeking ways to shield farmers from expansion of refinery biofuel waivers - report (Seeking Alpha)
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Farmers question Trump administration’s biofuels policy (Brownfield Ag News)
Excerpt from Reuters:
- Conventional ethanol D6 RINs last trade at $1.75 each, down 34 cents from Friday - Argus Media
- Conventional diesel D4 Rins traded between $1.91-$1.92 each, lowest since late April - Argus
- EPA to issue decisions on 34 small refinery exemption petitions, some dating to July 2024, in Aug
NEW YORK, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Prices for U.S. ethanol blending credits plunged on Monday to their lowest levels in more than four months, market sources said, after the Environmental Protection Agency said it would extend a September 1 compliance deadline for refiners and rule on long-pending small refinery exemption requests by the end of August.
Conventional ethanol Renewable Identification Numbers (D6 RINs) traded at $1.75 each at 12:45 p.m. ET, down 34 cents from Friday and their lowest level since April 15, according to Argus Media. The credits had traded as high as $2.50 on July 7. Biomass-based diesel RINs for 2026 were last assessed at around $1.92 each, their weakest level since late April, Argus data showed.
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Jessica Dell, head of U.S. biofuel pricing at Argus Media, said RIN prices lost substantial value again during Monday's session in response to the EPA's impending small refinery exemption decisions. RIN prices had fallen 5% on Friday.
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The EPA is reviewing 34 exemption petitions, some dating back to July 2024. The timing of those decisions has been a major source of uncertainty for the market, especially after the agency finalized record-high renewable fuel blending requirements for 2026 and 2027 which have added to their compliance burdens, Dell said.
Extending the compliance deadline is seen as signaling some form of “RIN relief” for refiners' 2026 and 2027 obligations as well, Scott Irwin, an agricultural economist at the University of Illinois said.
Market participants expect the EPA's rulings to free up a significant number of credits. Representatives of the refining and ethanol industries and an analyst estimate that the exemptions could free up between 1.2 billion and 1.8 billion RINs that small refiners could use to meet their 2025 compliance obligations. The EPA had previously indicated it could reallocate 990 million RINs associated with exemptions.
One senior trader said RINs collapsed as speculation began of SRE relief at around 1.8 billion, a surprise compared to the roughly 1.3 billion the market had been expecting. READ MORE
Excerpt from American Soybean Association: Potential move could cost soybean farmers approximately $1 billion and eliminate hundreds of millions of gallons of biofuel demand
The American Soybean Association is sounding the alarm over reports that small refinery exemptions for the 2025 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance year could far exceed previous government projections, delivering a major blow to domestic biofuel demand when U.S. soybean farmers can least afford it.
Recent reports and analysis indicate small refinery exemptions from RFS compliance year 2025 could total more than 1.8 billion Renewable Identification Number (RIN) credits under a newly revised methodology being developed. Such a massive volume of RFS compliance exemptions would be nearly double what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had assumed when it published the final 2026-2027 Renewable Volume Obligation Rule. The final biofuel blending rule published earlier this year by the Trump Administration included historic increases in biofuel volumes, boosting domestic demand for biofuels and U.S. soybeans. ASA applauded President Trump and EPA for supporting policies that drive demand, encourage industry investment, and improve local on-farm basis.
If EPA approves small refinery exemption petitions at levels that significantly exceed EPA’s earlier assumptions embodied in current biofuel blending rules, the result will be long-term damage that effectively undercuts the positive actions taken by the Trump Administration. The significant increase in biofuel volumes exempted from the RFS could eliminate around 500 million gallons of biomass-based diesel demand, cost U.S. soybean farmers approximately $1 billion in lost revenue, and put oil refiner interests ahead of farmers, rural communities, and expanded domestic biofuel supplies.
“At a time when soybean farmers are already struggling to support our farms, we cannot afford for the rug to be pulled out from under one of our most important sources of domestic demand,” said ASA Vice President Dave Walton, a soybean farmer from Iowa. “The Trump Administration has been tirelessly supporting policies that expand markets for biofuels made from U.S. soybeans, and we cannot reverse course just as the biofuel industry is beginning to realize the benefits. Domestic biofuel policy succeeds when it supports American farmers producing American energy, not when it gives oil refiners another break at a time when they are experiencing record profits. We hope the President and White House maintain their commitment to U.S. farmers and reject proposed actions that destroy these newly expanded markets in exchange for a giveaway to oil refiners.”
Biomass-based diesel provides a critical and growing domestic market for soybean oil, supporting soybean prices, rural jobs, and economic activity across the country. The reported small refinery exemption actions would run counter to the administration’s stated goals of strengthening American energy dominance, expanding domestic energy production, and supporting rural economies. American-grown biofuels diversify the nation’s fuel supply while creating a reliable domestic market for U.S. agriculture.
ASA has long advocated for the denial of compliance waivers, or small refinery exemptions, which erode the integrity of the RFS by reducing biofuel demand and impacting farmers by lowering the value of soybean crops.
ASA is urging President Trump and officials in the White House to reject any proposal that seeks to broaden the formula used to determine refinery exemptions from biofuel blending requirements in a way that would hurt farmers and erase demand for biofuels. Instead, ASA urges the administration to maintain exemptions no greater than what the EPA estimated using historically backed market data when it published the current biofuel blending rule. READ MORE
Excerpt from DTN Progressive Farmer: Biofuels Industry, Soybean Growers Alarmed by Reports of Surging RFS Exemptions
Reports the Trump administration could be set to double the biofuels volume of small-refinery exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard have farm and biofuels groups concerned about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's direction on the RFS.
At the end of last week, a Bloomberg Intelligence analysis said the EPA could issue SREs for 2025 exceeding 1.8 billion renewable identification numbers, or RINs, which is believed to be nearly double the agency's view of how many exemptions it may grant. That is based exemptions covering about 13.7 billion gallons of diesel and gasoline.
In March 2026, the EPA projected as a baseline 991 million biofuel gallons that could be exempted for 2023-2025.
At the end of last week, EPA announced plans to issue decisions on all pending exemption requests for 2025 by the end of the month.
In addition, the agency said it would extend the 2025 RFS compliance deadline for all obligated parties from its current Sept. 1, 2026, deadline.
Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, told DTN his group was hopeful the rumors 'would prove to be false.'
"We encourage EPA to clear the air as soon as possible," he said in a statement.
"This gossip has already negatively impacted the marketplace, with RIN prices collapsing in recent days and destabilization in the physical markets. Granting an amount of SREs that is far above the amount projected by EPA would not only undermine the growth and progress the renewable fuels industry has experienced this year, but it would also be inconsistent with the Trump administration's commitment to enforcing the highest-ever RVOs and providing a boost to America's farmers and renewable fuel producers."
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In a June 2025 proposed rule, the EPA said it was still trying to decide how it would evaluate SRE petitions.
"We have yet to take further action on these petitions (pending petitions) and are still determining how we will evaluate and decide those petitions, which would then inform how we would evaluate and decide any SRE petitions received for 2026 and 2027," the agency said in the proposal.
EPA PROJECTIONS
The agency then provided a projection of how many small refineries may qualify for SREs, saying a "potential range" of exempted volumes from SREs could be zero to 18 billion gallons.
"If EPA approves small-refinery exemption petitions at levels that significantly exceed EPA's earlier assumptions embodied in current biofuel blending rules, the result will be long-term damage that effectively undercuts the positive actions taken by the Trump administration," the ASA said.
The group representing U.S. soybean farmers said such an increase in the gallons waived by SREs "could eliminate around 500 million gallons of biomass-based diesel demand" and cost U.S. soybean farmers about $1 billion in lost revenue. READ MORE
Excerpt from Inside EPA: Citing market “chaos” driven by unconfirmed rumors, biofuels groups are raising concerns that EPA is planning to nearly double the volume of fuels it will exempt from compliance with the renewable fuel standard (RFS) when it issues decisions on outstanding waiver requests from small refiners for compliance year 2025 by Sept. 1. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) issued an Aug. 25 statement warning that “[this] week, biofuels markets have been thrown into chaos over rumors that the EPA may... READ MORE
Excerpt from Energy.AgWired.com: After just finalizing record RFS blending levels earlier this year, it would be bad policy for the Trump administration to reverse course now, said Monte Shaw of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. “We are hoping this is just another false rumor floated in the media to roil the markets so some credit trader can try to make a buck. But if there is substance behind the rumors, it is not too late to change course and to commit to a robust RFS – a commitment President Trump made in March, a commitment that is working, and a commitment that EPA should not undermine.”
“If a new methodology is adopted that grants nearly all refinery exemption requests for the 2025 compliance year, that would equate to roughly one billion lost biofuel gallons,” said Shaw. “And the damage wouldn’t stop there. Applied to 2026-2027, it would mean nearly a billion lost gallons each year going forward as well. So-called record-breaking RFS levels don’t mean a thing if they are reversed through unjustified refinery exemptions.” READ MORE
Excerpt from Sustainable Advanced Biofuel Refiners Coaltion/Biobased Diesel Daily: The Sustainable Advanced Biofuel Refiners Coalition is urging the Trump administration not to change the formula used by U.S. EPA in granting small-refinery exemptions (SRE) to petroleum companies under the Renewable Fuel Standard.
EPA may be considering changing the rules midstream without transparency, which would expand SREs and pull back on a market that is working.
Biodiesel would take the brunt of the negative impact of this expansion of SREs.
SABR represents stakeholders throughout the biodiesel value chain including soybean farmers and processors, biodiesel producers, glycerin refiners, and fuel distributors and retailers.
Together, these industries support jobs for millions of American households and generate billions of dollars in domestic economic activity by providing homegrown renewable fuel to the nation’s diesel supply.
All of these industries will be put at risk if EPA unnecessarily grants expanded exemptions under the RFS.
The year 2025 was devastating for the biodiesel industry because of major federal energy and tax policy uncertainty.
This uncertainty lasted through the first quarter of 2026, when the administration wisely signaled some hope for a recovery by issuing robust volumes under the RFS.
Biodiesel producers immediately stepped up to meet those prescribed volumes by adding much-needed fuel to the domestic diesel supply at a time of global fuel shortages and price increases.
That additional supply is making U.S. diesel prices lower than they would be otherwise.
But just as the biodiesel-market improvement was gaining momentum, SABR is hearing that EPA is considering pouring cold water on that recovery by expanding the eligibility criteria for SREs.
SREs were intended to be a short-term transitional tool in the early years of the RFS.
They have become an annual reward to oil companies and a destabilizing penalty to biofuel and ag markets.
This potential new change would further expand SREs to oil companies that are logging record profits from swollen refinery margins and certainly not experiencing “economic hardship.”
Expanding SREs would come at the expense of farmers who have suffered tremendously from shifting trade and biofuel policies.
Farm bankruptcies increased 46 percent in 2025.
Now, in 2026, the conflict in Iran has exacerbated that economic harm to farmers because of high diesel fuel prices and a shortage of fertilizer and other inputs due to supply disruptions.
“If the biodiesel markets in 2026 were a football game, the officials didn’t set the rules until the start of the second quarter, and now they may be considering changing the rules in the middle of the third quarter,” said SABR CEO Joe Jobe. “Earlier this year, EPA set the rules by issuing a very good final rule with robust biofuel volumes and other healthy changes to the program, and it is working. We urge the EPA to continue to let those good policies work to help fuel the American economy.” READ MORE
Excerpt from Reuters:
- Stephen Miller and Energy Dominance Council allies are pressing for broader relief, sources say
- Expanded exemptions would pare back the record 2026 renewable fuel requirement
- Iowa, South Dakota and Missouri attorneys general urge EPA to deny sweeping waivers
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - The White House has asked federal environmental regulators to allow the nation’s small oil refineries to blend less biofuels into their gasoline and diesel than initially projected as part of the administration’s efforts to ease pump prices, according to two administration officials.
...
The White House has asked the EPA in recent meetings, however, to waive a higher volume than that, the two sources told Reuters, asking not to be named. The push is being driven by senior White House adviser Stephen Miller, members of the administration's Energy Dominance Council and other policy advisers concerned about high energy costs, the sources said.
Several oil and biofuel industry representatives briefed by the administration on the matter told Reuters they expected the EPA to ultimately approve anywhere between 1.2 and 1.8 billion RINs in Small Refinery Exemptions.
That would cut meaningfully into overall biofuel blending mandates for the year, which the EPA had set at a record 26.81 billion RINs for 2026.
Such an outcome would please the oil industry, but trigger a backlash in the Midwest where agricultural interests have fought ferociously for strong biofuel mandates to support the country's farmers.
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The issue revives one of the most contentious battles from the first Trump administration when the EPA significantly expanded the exemption program to assuage the refining industry, but angered the Farm Belt in the meantime.
POLITICAL CALCULATION
The push from top Trump administration officials to expand the program reflects rising concerns about high gasoline prices since the U.S. conflict with Iran interrupted Middle East oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz. Those pump prices are a potential liability for Trump's fellow Republicans leading into the November midterm elections.
Refiners argue that high biofuel blending obligations raise the price of gasoline by imposing higher operating costs. But biofuel advocates reject that argument and say ethanol lowers fuel prices by pumping up supply volumes with a relatively cheap additive.
...
On Tuesday, the attorneys general of Iowa, South Dakota and Missouri sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin urging him to reject broad refinery waiver requests, arguing that recent glowing refining industry earnings reports undermine claims that refiners are suffering economic hardship.
"The refineries want to have their cake and eat it, too," the letter said.
Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa said on X on Monday: "I sure hope the Trump admin won’t give small refinery exemptions at a near record level. Would only help petroleum refiners making record profits."
The prospect of large-scale exemptions, meanwhile, has already hit RIN prices, which plunged to their lowest level in more than four months on Monday. READ MORE
Excerpt from DTN Progressive Farmer: In a letter to Zeldin on Monday, the attorneys general from Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Missouri said they are concerned the agency is not following the proper steps when considering petitions.
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"By way of background, following EPA's August 2025 announcement of 140 SREs, I, along with the attorneys general from Nebraska and South Dakota, sent you a letter on Oct. 29, 2025, outlining sincere concerns regarding the circumstances under which those SREs were sought," Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird wrote in the letter signed by the four states.
"In that letter, we underscored how some refiners reduce production to qualify for a SRE instead of maximizing capacity and the gamesmanship used to satisfy the 'economic hardship' element."
Ahead of the pending decisions, the letter said the U.S. refining sector is seeing some of the "highest refining margins in modern history."
"The entire world is facing a shortage of refined products," the letter said. "And as a result, all refineries are reporting record profitability -- it is likely almost none are economically disadvantaged or experiencing the kind of economic hardship required to qualify for a SRE. The refineries want to have their cake and eat it, too."
The attorneys general said the economic benefit of the SRE is "staggering" and is "worth more than the returns the refineries receiving them" are making. The AGs said the companies should be held accountable.
"If that sounds outlandish, it makes sense to ask them," the letter said.
...
"The refineries are boasting about it themselves. For example, Delek, in a recent earnings announcement, shared that approximately 30% to 46% of the publicly traded stock value generated due to SREs. That translates to roughly $1.9 billion to $3.8 billion in wealth transfer from American drivers to a single company. Other refiners have reported similar engorgements."
The AGs said the EPA already has recognized that the cost of the RFS was "substantially embedded" in the refining margin and "should not be causing distress" to small refineries.
"Even more stunning, it is a wonder that EPA would encourage the type of gamesmanship that artificially limits the supply of much-needed refined products and increases prices on Iowans and other consumers nationwide," the letter said.
"Small refiners are unlikely to be suffering the economic distress they need to be claiming to justify an exception under the statute. Even more stunning, it is a wonder that EPA would encourage the type of gamesmanship that limits the supply of refined products and increases prices on drivers and truckers across the Midwest and rest of the country."
The AGs said the agency runs a risk of "behaving arbitrarily or contrary to statute" if it continues to award SREs to companies that are making record profits.
"Awarding SREs undermines the RFS, creates incentives for certain refiners to restrain production at a time when the country needs every refinery running at full rates, and increases the costs of fuel for consumers and hurts farmers," the letter said.
RESPONSE TO EPA'S SRE PLANS
In March, the EPA forecasted less than one billion gallons would be exempted for 2025. This week it was reported by Bloomberg Intelligence that the agency may have plans to exempt over 1.8 billion gallons.
...
Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, said in a statement on Tuesday ...
"We are hoping this is just another false rumor floated in the media to roil the markets so some credit trader can try to make a buck. But if there is substance behind the rumors, it is not too late to change course and to commit to a robust RFS."
Shaw said that since the EPA finalized the RFS blending levels for 2026-2027 in March, there has been a "strong resurgence" of biodiesel production in Iowa and around the country.
"In Iowa, we had biodiesel plants that were shuttered or running at very reduced rates," he said.
"Today they are producing at full capacity, buying soybean oil from our farmers, and hiring back workers that had been let go. It would be reckless and almost unimaginable to pull the rug out from under this success story at the request of a handful of oil refiners that are certainly not suffering from economic hardship during this time of high oil and fuel prices." READ MORE
Excerpt from Reuters: The administration is considering a plan that would increase biofuel quotas for the 2027 calendar year by roughly 500 million gallons to offset any damage caused by the soon-to-be-announced exemptions for smaller refineries, two separate sources told Reuters. The administration has not made a final decision on the additions, the sources said.
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In a letter to Trump, the groups, including the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and the National Farmers Union, said the administration should keep exemptions for the 2025 compliance year in line with the volumes the Environmental Protection Agency assumed when it set the nation's biofuel blending requirements for 2026 and 2027.
The administration is considering roughly doubling the size of the exemptions, from 990 million credits to as many as 1.8 billion, sources have told Reuters. A decision is expected before the end of August.
The groups warned that granting exemptions well above the levels anticipated by the EPA would "decimate the demand signal" created by the agency's March rule setting the 2026 and 2027 renewable volume obligations, or RVOs.
"The consequences would be severe and immediate," the groups said, warning that excess exemptions could cause biofuel markets to collapse and reduce demand for corn and soybean oil.
...
Trump and agency heads discussed a plan that would restore the lost gallons from the exemptions in future biofuel quotas, which are set annually. It was unclear exactly how they planned to do so.
Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, has criticized the potential expansion of the exemptions, telling Reuters in a statement that it is "a handout to Big Oil falsely marketed as relief at the pump."
"You don't lower gas prices by taking American-made biofuel off the market, and these exemptions will crush demand for corn and soybeans while padding the pockets of refiners already making record profits. Farmers lose, consumers get nothing, and oil companies rake in the cash," Ernst said. READ MORE
Excerpt from Ethanol Producer Magazine: The White House Office of Management and Budget is reviewing a proposed regulatory action that would extend the 2025 compliance reporting deadline for the Renewable Fuel Standard. That deadline is currently set for Sept. 1.
The U.S. EPA on Aug. 26 delivered a final rule to extend the RFS compliance reporting deadline to the OMB. Information posted to the OMB website provides no details on the content of final rule or what the new proposed deadline might be.
Information released by the OMB on the final rule submitted by the EPA does not indicate it will take any action regarding outstanding SRE petitions. READ MORE
Excerpt from Reuters:
- EPA expected Monday to announce more than 1.8 billion biofuel waiver credits, sources say
- Applicants for waivers include refineries owned by Marathon Petroleum and Chevron
- White House pushed expanded waivers to help manage gas prices during Iran conflict READ MORE
Excerpt from Reuters:
- Trump to host refiners Tuesday as gasoline prices average over $4 a gallon
- White House says US refining system operates at nearly 100% of existing capacity
- Three of the largest US refiners post combined $12.6 billion in second-quarter profit, according to Reuters READ MORE
Excerpt from Energy.AgWired.com: Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) launched a full-fledged attack on corn ethanol over the weekend with nine posts on his X account, calling on President Trump to “end the tyranny of the Cornography Caucus” and saying all Republicans should categorically reject federal “ethanol mandates” that “let government pick winners and losers in the economy.”
Starting with a link to a Washington Post opinion piece written by Heritage Foundation Executive Vice President Derrick Morgan calling for reducing biofuel standards in gasoline, Sen. Lee went scorched earth on the ethanol industry and corn growers on August 29, including a post saying “Americans are getting screwed at the gas pump by Big Corn, which profits enormously from federal mandates requiring us to use corn to fuel our cars.”
Lee also put up an X polling question, which received over 5200 votes saying no to, “Should the government force us to drive corn-burning cars—knowing that it adds significantly to what Americans pay at the gas pump—just so we can make a few rich agricultural giants even richer?”
As chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Sen. Lee is a longtime opponent of the the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and is also against year-round E15, which is included in the Senate version of the Farm Bill the agriculture committee is expected to revisit after the August recess. His attacks come as the Trump administration is poised to approve small refinery exemptions as soon as today covering more than 1.8 billion RINs (renewable identification numbers), well above the roughly 1 billion RINs the EPA had previously projected. Applicants include plants owned by Marathon Petroleum and Chevron. President Trump is scheduled to host refining executives at the White House tomorrow.
Ag groups and biofuel producers have pushed back, arguing the extra waivers would undercut the record-high 2026 RFS volumes finalized in March. The administration is reportedly considering an offset by adding at least 500 million RINS to the 2027 quotas. READ MORE
Excerpt from Seeking Alpha: Trump is considering a plan that would increase biofuel quotas for the 2027 calendar year by ~500M gallons to offset any damage caused by the soon-to-be-announced exemptions for smaller refineries, which are expected to roughly double from 990M renewable fuel credits to as many as 1.8B, the report said.
During Trump's first term, broad refinery exemptions drew fierce opposition from Midwest farmers and ethanol producers while benefiting and winning support from oil refiners, and the issue has returned at a time when the administration has sought to lower fuel costs ahead of the November midterm elections.
The prospect of a large expansion of refinery waivers had traders anticipating weaker demand for biofuels, sending prices for renewable fuel credits sharply lower earlier this week.
...
Potentially relevant stocks include Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge (BG), Green Plains (GPRE), Gevo (GEVO), Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE), REX American Resources (REX), Darling Ingredients (DAR), FutureFuel (FF), Valero Energy (VLO), Marathon Petroleum (MPC), Phillips 66 (PSX), HF Sinclair (DINO), PBF Energy (PBF), Delek US (DK).
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