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Pakistan ethanol producers pursue EU fuel market access
Pakistan ethanol producers pursue EU fuel market access
Bangkok, 18 September (Argus) — Major Pakistani ethanol producers are seeking International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) to expand sales into the EU fuel ethanol market after losing preferential access to the bloc's industrial ethanol sector. Participants at the Sugar and Ethanol Asia conference in Bangkok said more Pakistani producers are considering ISCC certification to supply bulk fuel ethanol to Europe. Pakistan has traditionally sold ethanol to European industrial users, but suppliers are increasingly looking at fuel ethanol after changes to EU trade rules. The ISCC database shows at least eight Pakistani ethanol plants have been certified this year, including ones owned by Shah Murad Sugar Mills and Chashma Sugar Mills. Producers expect certification to support higher-volume exports. Bulk and ISO tank shipments were evenly split in 2025, but bulk cargoes have taken a larger share this year, Pakistan-based Noon Sugar Mills' general manager Rana Waseem told Argus on the sidelines of the conference. EU fuel ethanol access could prompt more bulk shipments, which are typically more economical than ISO tanks for larger volumes, market participants said. The EU had suspended Pakistan's preferential market access for industrial ethanol imports in June 2025. The policy change significantly reduced the competitiveness of Pakistani ethanol in its traditional industrial market, prompting some suppliers to explore opportunities in the fuel ethanol segment instead. Fuel-grade ethanol was not included in the EU's 2025 measures. Pakistan has historically exported little fuel ethanol to Europe because most production facilities lacked sustainability certifications , such as ISCC. The certifications are needed for biofuels used to meet the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED) targets. Competitive pricing European fuel ethanol prices remain above Pakistani export values. Argus last assessed RED-compliant T2 ethanol at $1,135.74-1,150.29/t fob ARA, against $790-810/t fob for Pakistan anhydrous ethanol. The price gap underlines the potential value of EU fuel market access, though freight, certification and other compliance costs still weigh on export economics, market sources said. ISCC-certified ethanol could command a $10-20/t premium over non-certified material, head of trading at Hunza Sugar Mills, Rizwan Hussain, told Argus . Other producers said the premium is hard to quantify and may differ by buyer and destination. Pakistan's ethanol market remains seasonally quiet before the sugarcane crushing season starts in November. Ethanol used to meet EU transport fuel blending mandates must comply with RED sustainability requirements. RED III's stronger focus on greenhouse-gas savings could make some Pakistani ethanol more attractive than competing supplies, but certification remains necessary to access the regulated fuel market, market participants said. Pakistan's ethanol exports to the EU have declined since the 27-member bloc ended duty-free access for non-fuel ethanol in June 2025. Pakistani sellers now face import duties of about $120/t on their ethanol exports, reducing competitiveness and encouraging producers to explore alternative export channels, market sources said. Despite the growing interest in fuel ethanol exports, participants are also exercising caution as ISCC certification can take several months, requires independent verification across the full supply chain from feedstock sourcing to ethanol production, and may not be secured on the first attempt. Both sugar and ethanol facilities typically need certification. Exporters are also watching for possible changes to Pakistan's EU trade status. One major supplier said the industry hopes a 2027 review could improve market access, but producers for now increasingly see ISCC certification as the most practical route into the EU fuel ethanol market. The EU suspended Pakistan's preferential treatment for ethanol imports in 2025 to restore fair competition, while the EU-Mercosur trade agreement will give specified South American ethanol volumes preferential access, intensifying competition among exporters targeting Europe. By Nikhil Sharma Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US considers loaning more crude from SPR
US considers loaning more crude from SPR
Washington, 17 September (Argus) — A recent increase in crude prices has made it a "very real possibility" that the US Department of Energy (DOE) will offer an additional round of crude loans under a still ongoing 172mn bl drawdown from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), US energy secretary Chris Wright said. The escalation of hostilities in the Middle East has caused front month WTI crude prices to jump to about $101/bl, which is about 25pc more than futures prices for delivery six months from now. The steep backwardation in the futures market, if it continues, has made it a "very real possibility" that DOE will resume offering oil under the existing crude loan program, Wright said. "The market right now is saying, 'Hey, maybe we need that oil.' So quite possibly we will respond to that," Wright told reporters on Thursday. DOE has already loaned more than 130mn bl of crude or more than 75pc of the drawdown that President Donald Trump authorized in March, and another 3mn bl is scheduled to be released over the next few weeks. But the remaining crude of the authorization — about 38.5mn bl — has yet to be obligated. DOE got high interest in the program this spring, as traders took advantage of about a $30/bl premium in the front month crude contract over futures prices a year later. That profit was more than enough to cover a requirement to return more crude to the SPR than borrowed, which so far is putting about 1.25 bl into the SPR for each 1 bl borrowed. But by June, when DOE offered to loan out the remaining 40mn bl out of the 172mn bl authorization, the profitability of the trade had collapsed , and only 500,000 bl was contracted. "We had stopped selling because the prices were flat," Wright said. "The market today is pulling for it. If that remains, then it's very possible we will finish the allocation of oil we originally agreed to trade." The ongoing drawdown has pushed crude inventories in the SPR to a 44-year low of 285mn bl. Wright has previously said he expects crude to start returning to the SPR by early next year, but the reserve will remain partially depleted even after that refill process finishes in 2029. The US Congress has only provided $171mn to buy crude to refill the SPR, and Wright said he was looking at other options to refill the SPR. "We have a couple of other very creative ideas that I've hinted at for a while — you'll hear more about them later — where we're going to we're going to put quite a few more barrels into the SPR at no cost to the US taxpayers," Wright said at an event held by The Daily Caller . By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US gasoline, aromatics tighten on diesel focus
US gasoline, aromatics tighten on diesel focus
Houston, 17 September (Argus) — US oil refineries are focusing the highest run rates in 22 years on diesel production as two wars increase overseas demand, a move that has tightened domestic supplies of gasoline and aromatic blending components. Prices for aromatics blended into gasoline stand at multi-year highs, with the ethylbenzene (EB) assessment reaching levels reaching a record-high of 503¢/USG on 8 September . EB feedstock benzene and toluene and xylenes prices all reached four-year highs in September. Benzene peaked at 547¢/USG on 15 September and toluene and xylenes both peaked at 564¢/USG on 16 September, Argus data show. The rise in aromatics prices has been driven by increased blending of low-octane, light-naphtha into US gasoline supplies, as blending naphtha boosts demand for high-octane aromatic blendstocks to raise gasoline's octane rating to retail specifications. Naphtha blending demand is rising because of high gasoline prices that have increased gasoline's premium to naphtha, known as the naphtha-gasoline spread, into September, bucking seasonal trends. The spread normally narrows after peak high-octane blending demand in June ( see chart ). But the naphtha-gasoline spread widened to 157¢/USG in September, up by 22¢/USG from June, Argus data show. The unseasonably wide naphtha-gasoline spread can be traced to higher gasoline prices, rather than a particularly weak naphtha market that caused supply builds in prior years. The naphtha-gasoline spread stands above levels seen during the fall of 2022 and 2023, when falling naphtha exports boosted US supplies. Naphtha exports in 2022 and 2023 were 258,000 b/d and 281,000 b/d, respectively, while naphtha exports so far this year have averaged 402,000 b/d. Also contributing to this year's unseasonably high prices for aromatics blendstocks toluene, xylenes and EB are plant turnarounds at two aromatics producers in September and October that have tightened supplies further. The US has also received fewer aromatics imports than in the past four years because of feedstock supply issues in Asia-Pacific that have capped refinery run rates in the region. That has forced Asian petrochemical producers to prioritize supplying their regional trading partners, even with open arbitrage opportunities to the US in spite of import tariffs. Focus on diesel Aromatics demand for gasoline blending has also been supported by US refiners' decision to prioritize diesel production, tightening supplies of gasoline and blending components. With the harvest season boosting domestic diesel demand and wars in Ukraine and the Mideast Gulf creating supply constraints that have boosted export demand, the Nymex ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) contract settled at a record high this week. Refiners' focus on diesel at the expense of gasoline has outweighed the seasonal shift to winter-grade gasoline, which this year was allowed to begin on 1 September, two weeks earlier than usual. The shift to winter specifications permits lower cost, higher-vapor pressure blendstocks like butane to enter the gasoline blend pool, which typically reduces demand for aromatic blendstocks. Gasoline prices also remain unseasonably high. Conventional 87-grade gasoline prices stand $1.68/USG higher than year-earlier levels and $0.97/USG higher than the five-year rolling average for the month of September, Argus data show. Meanwhile, premium 93-grade gasoline prices, which include additional high-octane blendstocks, stand $1.83/USG higher than a year earlier and $0.98/USG higher than the five-year rolling average for September. Higher gasoline prices stem from the overseas conflicts that have reduced inventories and increased global crude prices. Gasoline inventories totaled 207.7mn bl and motor gasoline blending components totaled 193.1mn bl in the week ended 11 September, down from a year earlier by 9.9mn bl and 9.6mn bl, respectively, according to US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. Inventories of gasoline and blendstocks are poised to tighten further, pushing prices higher, as refiners prioritizing diesel production. Meanwhile, crude prices have surged since the start of the US-Iran war, with WTI Houston crude closing at $107.78/bl on 15 September and crude prices peaking this year on 6 April at $119.66/bl, Argus data show. Refinery rates at 22-year highs US refiners are running all out to capture record high margins, particularly for diesel. Refinery operating rates have averaged 97.3pc so far in September, the highest average monthly rate since June 2004 and well above the roughly 90-95pc range of recent years, EIA data show. As US refinery run rates increase, so has diesel output. ULSD production last week was up by 7.7pc from a year earlier at 5.04mn b/d, according to EIA data. In August, ULSD production rose to 5.01mn b/d, the highest output since December 2025. US diesel production has climbed since the beginning of the Mideast Gulf war to help meet European demand for fuels typically sourced from the Middle East and Russia. US Gulf coast ULSD exports to Europe climbed to 590,000 b/d in the week ended 11 September, up by 490,000 b/d from the prior week, according to Vortexa vessel-tracking data, and the highest exports to the continent in Vortexa records dating to January 2016. Record high US diesel exports have contributed to a draw down in inventories, which totaled 107.9mn bl in the week ended 11 September, down by 16.8mn bl from the year prior. US refiners in September usually build diesel stocks ahead of seasonal turnarounds, when they shift away from maximum diesel yields. If diesel inventories remain low in October, gasoline and aromatic blendstock prices could gain further support. With tight diesel and gasoline inventories and aromatic chemical prices near multi-year highs, the market has little room for disruption. Any major refinery outage or major Gulf coast storm could quickly drive fuel and aromatic petrochemical prices higher. By Jake Caldwell, Blake Del Papa and Hunter Fite Naphtha - Conventional 87 grade gasoline spread ¢/USG Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Indonesia to continue 50pc biodiesel blend in 2027
Indonesia to continue 50pc biodiesel blend in 2027
Singapore, 17 September (Argus) — Indonesia will continue implementing a 50pc biodiesel-fossil diesel blend (B50) target in 2027, the country's ministry of energy and mineral resources (ESDM) said at the sixth palm biodiesel conference in Bali today. But the government will also consider adding 10pc of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) into the diesel pool, on top of 50pc biodiesel next year, ESDM director general Eniya Listiani Dewi said. Indonesia currently requires 5pc of HVO to be blended into the diesel fuel pool with a cetane number (CN) of 51. Domestic fuel sales for CN51 gasoil were at 1.1mn kilolitres, followed by 1.3mn kl for CN48 and 520,000kl for CN53 gasoil in 2025, according to ESDM data. A ramp up to 10pc HVO blend for the entire diesel fuel pool appears ambitious, since the country currently lacks any dedicated HEFA production. State-controlled Pertamina can co-process up to 45,000 t/yr of HVO at its Dumai refinery, but domestically produced neat HVO is only planned to come to market in 2030, when it plans to bring a HEFA plant on line with roughly 890,000 t/yr total HVO and SAF production at its Plaju refinery in South Sumatra. The plant has not yet reached final investment decision, according to Argus records. Indonesia will also set a minimum one-year period for further infrastructure and supply chain upgrades before targeting a higher biodiesel blend percentage, Dewi added. The country moved to B50 in July . HVO is chemically identical to fossil diesel and can be used as a drop-in fuel without additional modifications to on-road vehicle engines, in contrast to biodiesel which requires further testing to ensure stable fuel use. By Malcolm Goh and Lauren Moffitt Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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