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Viewpoint: US tax fight next year crucial for 45Z
Viewpoint: US tax fight next year crucial for 45Z
New York, 23 December (Argus) — A Republican-controlled Congress will decide the fate next year of a federal incentive for low-carbon fuels, setting the stage for a lobbying battle that could make or break existing investment plans. The 45Z tax credit, which offers greater subsidies to fuels that produce fewer emissions, is poised to kick off in January. Biofuel output has boomed during President Joe Biden's term, driven in large part by west coast refiners retrofitting facilities to process lower-carbon fats and oils into renewable diesel. The 45Z tax credit, created by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), was designed to extend that growth. But Republicans will soon control Washington. President-elect Donald Trump has dismissed the IRA as the "Green New Scam", and Republicans on Capitol Hill, who had no role in passing Biden's signature climate legislation, are keen to cut climate spending to offset the steep cost of extending tax cuts from Trump's first term. Biofuels support is a less likely target for repeal than other climate policies, energy lobbyists say. But Republicans have already requested input on 45Z, signaling openness to changes. Republicans plan to use the reconciliation process, which enables them to avoid a Democratic filibuster in the Senate, to extend tax breaks that are scheduled to expire in 2025. "I want to place our industry in a place to make sure that the biofuels tax credit is part of reconciliation," said Kailee Tkacz Buller, president of the National Oilseed Processors Association. But lawmakers "could punt the biofuels discussion if stakeholders aren't aligned." A decade ago, biofuel policy was a simple tug-of-war between the oil and agriculture industries. Now many refiners formerly critical of the Renewable Fuel Standard produce ethanol and advanced biofuels themselves. And the increasingly diverse biofuels industry could complicate efforts to present a united front to Congress. Farm groups worry about carbon intensity scoring hurting crop demand and have lobbied to curtail record-high feedstock imports, to the chagrin of some biorefineries. Those producers are no monolith either: Biodiesel plants often rely more on local vegetable oils, while ethanol producers insist on keeping incentives that do not discriminate by fuel type and some oil majors would back subsidizing fuels co-processed with petroleum. Add airlines into the picture, which want greater incentives for aviation fuels, and marketers frustrated by 45Z shifting subsidies away from blenders — and the threat of fractious negotiations next year becomes clear. There are options for potential compromise, according to an Argus analysis of comments submitted privately to Republicans in the House of Representatives, as well as interviews with energy lobbyists and tax experts. The industry, frustrated by the Biden administration's delays in clarifying 45Z's rules, might welcome legislative changes that limit regulatory discretion regardless of what agency guidance eventually says. And lobbyists have floated various ways to appease agriculture groups without kneecapping biorefineries reliant on imports, including adding domestic content bonuses, imposing stricter requirements for Chinese-origin used cooking oil, and giving preference to close trading partners. Granted, unanimity among lobbyists is hardly a priority for Republican tax-writers. Reaching any consensus in the restive caucus, with just a handful of votes to spare in the House, will be difficult enough. "These types of bills always come to down to what's the most you can do before you start losing enough votes to pass it," said Jeff Navin, cofounder of the clean energy advocacy firm Boundary Stone Partners and a former House and Senate staffer. "Because they can only lose a couple of votes, there's not much more beyond that." And the caucus's goal of cutting spending makes an industry-wide goal — extending the 45Z credit into the 2030s — even more challenging. "It is a hard sell to get the extension right away," said Paul Winters, director of public affairs at Clean Fuels Alliance America. Climate costs Cost concerns also make less likely a simple return to the long-running blenders credit, which offered $1/USG across the board to biomass-based diesel. The US Joint Committee on Taxation in 2022 scored the two-year blenders extension at $5.5bn, while pegging three years of 45Z at less than $3bn. An inconvenient reality for Republicans skeptical of climate change is that 45Z's throttling of subsidies based on carbon intensity makes it more budget-friendly. Lawmakers have other reasons to not ignore emissions. Policies elsewhere, including California's low-carbon fuel standard and Europe's alternative jet fuel mandates, increasingly prioritize sustainability. The US deviating from that focus federally could leave producers with contradictory incentives, making it harder to turn a profit. And companies that have already sunk funds into reducing emissions — such as ethanol producers with heavy investments in carbon capture — want their reward. Incentives with bipartisan buy-in are likely more durable over the long run too. Next time Democrats control Washington, liberals may be more willing to scrap a credit they see as padding the profits of agribusiness — but less so if they see it as helping the US decarbonize. By Cole Martin Tax credit changes 40A Blenders Tax Credit 45Z Producers Tax Credit $1/USG Up to $1/USG for road fuels and up to $1.75/USG for aviation fuels depending on carbon intensity For domestic fuel blenders For domestic fuel producers Imported fuel eligible Imported fuel not eligible Exclusively for biomass-based diesel Fuels that produce no more than 50kg CO2e/mmBTU are eligible Feedstock-agnostic Carbon intensity scoring incentivizes waste over crop feedstocks Co-processed fuels ineligible Co-processed fuels ineligible Administratively simple Requires federal guidance on how to calculate carbon intensities for different feedstocks and fuel pathways Expiring after 2024 Lasts from 2025 through 2027 Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Tall oil rosin output to decline in 2024
Tall oil rosin output to decline in 2024
Sao Paulo, 29 November (Argus) — Global tall oil rosin (TOR) production is likely to decline in 2024 on the back of reduced fractionation rates and softer rosin demand. Output of TOR, one of the key fractions obtained by the distilling of crude tall oil (CTO), is seen at 350,000t, down from an estimated 450,000-495,000t in 2022, two sources said. "There is still a trend for biobased natural resins, but demand is not there yet," consultant Alex Cunningham said at the Brazil Pine Chemicals Meeting in Sao Paulo on 28 and 29 November. TOR output is forecast to decline this year as CTO fractionation rates are down in the US and in Europe because of softer downstream rosin demand. Closures of tall oil refineries in the US reduced domestic CTO fractionation capacity by about 30pc, according to market participants. TOR and TOR derivatives can be used in various applications, including paper sizing, printing inks, adhesives and road marking. By Leonardo Siqueira Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Biodiesel to drive 2025 palm oil prices: IPOC
Biodiesel to drive 2025 palm oil prices: IPOC
Singapore, 8 November (Argus) — Palm oil prices are likely to be supported by tight supplies in 2025, as Indonesia is slated to begin a 40pc biodiesel blending mandate (B40) and crude palm oil (CPO) production growth is slowing, market experts said at the 20th Indonesian Palm Oil Conference and 2025 Price Outlook ( IPOC 2024 ) in Nusa Dua, Bali. Higher blending mandates and tighter supplies may keep CPO futures above 5,000 ringgit/t ($1,130/t) during the first half of 2025, as could firmer lunar new year and Ramzan demand between January-March, Godrej International director Dorab Mistry said. Indonesia plans to implement B40 in 2025, according to its minister of bioenergy Edi Wibowo, before moving to B50 before 2030. If Indonesia enforces B40 as planned, palm oil prices may rally an additional 10-15pc over current prices in the first quarter of 2024, Oil World analyst Thomas Mielke said. But industry experts were sceptical that Indonesia's B40 will materialise, citing current tight supply of CPO and a relatively wide palm oil-gas oil (POGO) spread, which would exert more pressure on government subsidies. Indonesia subsidises biodiesel producers for the difference between gasoil and biodiesel production cost, using funds accrued from export levies on palm oil products. With crude oil prices possibly constrained, higher subsidies will be required to fill the gap, according to consultancy Transgraph's Nagaraj Meda. Subsidies of $5.6bn, $4.76bn, and $3.53bn will be required should Ice Brent crude prices hit $68.50/bl, $75/bl, and $85/bl respectively under B40, Meda said. Under the current B35 programme, biodiesel subsidies have cost the Indonesian government $2.56bn so far in 2024. The export levy structure — which was adjusted in October — is insufficient to fund a B40 programme. "The export levy and tax structure will need revision urgently", Mistry said. Soy soars Palm oil output will grow moderately in 2024-25, while production of rival soybean oil will be higher, the conference heard. Mielke expects palm oil production to increase by 2.3mn t, and soybean oil production to rise by 3.3-3.5mn t. Sunflower and rapeseed oil production will fall by 3.8mn t in 2024-25, he forecasts. Glenauk Economics director Julian McGill said high palm oil prices will drive US biofuels demand towards soybean oil, driving some correction in palm oil prices. Elevated CPO prices are making palm oil mill effluent (Pome) and used cooking oil (UCO) uncompetitive in the EU and US as biofuels feedstocks, reducing demand, he said. Palm oil prices are now well above those for waste oils, which tends to tighten supplies of UCO in southeast Asia as there is less incentive for restaurants and factories to sell their oil. Assuming gasoil prices do not increase, McGill said fundamentals are not enough to support current palm oil prices. He sees the fob Indonesia price returning to $1,000/t before the end of 2024, but said CPO futures on the Bursa Malaysia exchange will remain between $950-1,050/t due to lower stocks following firm exports during 2024. Coconut falls In the lauric oil markets, Mistry is projecting an increase in prices during the 2024-25 period as he expects coconut oil (CNO) production to decrease. He forecasts CNO prices to continue on an upward trend until the second half of 2025, ranging between $1,800–2000/t cif Rotterdam until June. Crude palm kernel oil prices are expected to follow CNO during the same period, Mistry said. By Deborah Sun and Carolina Palma Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
PKO insufficient for EU market under EUDR
PKO insufficient for EU market under EUDR
London, 8 November (Argus) — The European oleochemical market will have insufficient palm kernel oil (PKO) supply under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), delegates heard today at the 20th Indonesian Palm Oil Conference and 2025 Price Outlook (IPOC 2024) in Nusa Dua, Bali. The cost of compliance with the EUDR will tighten PKO supply for EU markets as fewer palm oil producers are expected to comply with the regulation, further increasing prices into the EU bloc, according to Glenauk Economics managing director Julian McGill. Additionally, an excessive investment in fatty alcohols production in Indonesia will limit the country's exports, further tightening global supply, according to McGill. Indonesia currently consumes 70pc of its PKO production, McGill said. The EUDR requires mandatory due diligence from operators and trading firms selling and importing palm oil and its derivatives into the EU bloc, including PKO. Firms must ensure that products sold in the EU have not contributed to deforestation or forest degradation. Although the regulation is originally expected to take effect from 1 January 2025, the European Commission recently proposed an extra 12 months "phasing-in time" for implementation, which will be voted on by the EU parliament, probably on 14 November. But "the problem with the EUDR will not be solved by postponing the regulation, as European demand for PKO will remain excessive compared to that for palm oil," Julian McGill said during the conference. To fulfil European demand for PKO, producers will have to generate more EUDR compliant palm oil than actually needed, according to McGill. The average yield of PKO from fresh palm oil fruit bunches is 2-5pc. McGill also highlighted that another important problem to be solved for the EUDR to be correctly implemented is the complexity of traceability requirements for palm and palm kernel oil, because they are liquid goods, unlike wood, coffee and cocoa beans. By Carolina A. Palma Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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