バイオ燃料と原料
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アーガスのバイオ燃料ソリューションは、原燃料から最終燃料まで、世界の再生可能燃料サプライチェーン全体にわたる詳細な価格と市場分析を提供し、地域のバイオディーゼル、エタノール、原燃料市場などに関する価格と重要な洞察を提供します。
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European HVO Class IV-II spread at an all-time high
European HVO Class IV-II spread at an all-time high
London, 22 April (Argus) — The northwest European HVO Class IV–II spread reached a record high of around $450/t on Tuesday, 21 April, up from $250/t a month prior, driven by scarce Class IV offers and growing expectations of compliance-driven demand. Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) Class II is produced from used cooking oil (UCO), while Class IV is made from palm oil mill effluent (Pome). Under the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED), the contribution of Class II — along with other biofuels made from Annex IX B feedstocks — is capped in meeting the transport renewable energy target, whereas Class IV is incentivised alongside biofuels made from Annex IX A feedstocks. Biofuels made from Annex IX feedstocks are double-counted toward mandate compliance in many member states. In practical terms, the spread widened because the Class IV premium to gasoil traded higher by $95/m³ on Tuesday's Argus Open Markets (AOM), while Class II only traded higher by $20/m³. Class IV firmed because of supply-side behaviour linked to regulatory expectations, with market participants attributing the move mainly to a scarcity of Class IV offers in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub. Expectations that the Netherlands and Germany will abolish double-counting of Annex IX feedstocks from 2026 are likely to significantly boost HVO demand this year. As higher absolute amounts of biofuel would be required to meet greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction quotas, demand for drop-in fuels such as HVO is likely to rise. Those expectations strengthened following legislative developments in Germany and the Netherlands on Tuesday. The countries are among Europe's largest biofuels consumers. In Germany, implementation of the updated Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) has been added to the parliamentary agenda on Thursday , while in the Netherlands legislation amending the Environmental Management Act and the Excise Duty Act has been ratified . Both countries — along with France, Italy and Spain — missed the 21 May 2025 RED III implementation deadline . This had raised questions about whether higher RED III targets and the removal of double-counting would apply retroactively from 1 January 2026. Most market participants now expect the changes to proceed. In parallel, use of Pome in Germany had been under question, but it is now likely to be allowed for quota generation this year, with a ban anticipated from 2027. With UCO-based HVO capped, traders said demand could increasingly shift toward advanced grades such as Class IV, leaving scope for further widening in the Class IV–II spread. Beyond physical fundamentals, market structure may also be contributing to the spread widening. The Class IV increase follows last week's first trade in the Class IV paper contract. Historically, Class IV exposure has often been hedged using the Class II contract, according to participants, but traders said the newly-launched Class IV paper instrument could allow Class IV values to decouple more clearly from the Class II benchmark, supporting a wider spread. The third quarter Class IV/Class II spread traded at +$350/t ($2,060/t, $1,710/t) on 17 April, with post trade interest described as wide. Ice launched the Argus -settled contract on 7 April. Participants can trade the contract as an outright and as a differential to front-month gasoil. Additional support for Class IV could be coming from Indonesia, where the government said on Tuesday that fuel blenders will be required to submit plans for implementing a 50pc biodiesel–fossil diesel (B50) blending mandate from 1 July. Indonesia exports refined Pome oil to Europe and Asia-Pacific, although crude Pome exports have been restricted since January 2025 . The Argus Pome oil cif ARA price rose after the news, as Indonesia may re-direct more of its Pome supply toward its biodiesel production. By Evelina Lungu HVO Class IV-II spread $/t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US House task force readies new biofuel policy
US House task force readies new biofuel policy
New York, 21 April (Argus) — A group of Republican US lawmakers has returned to an earlier idea for reforming biofuel policy that would prevent larger companies from winning exemptions from biofuel blend mandates, but with a new carve-out for refineries at risk of closing. The US House of Representatives task force has been debating the thorny issue for months, hoping to arrive at a final bill that would limit so-called small-refinery exemptions and expand access to a cheaper gasoline blend that contains more ethanol. The council's latest plan, according to five people familiar with the plan and bill text seen by Argus , would restrict exemption eligibility to companies with no more than 75,000 b/d of total refining capacity starting in 2028. The bill closely tracks a January proposal negotiated in large part by the American Petroleum Institute and ethanol advocates. That plan was removed from legislation to fund the government earlier this year amid backlash from some oil refiners. The House task force has more recently floated other ideas, including capping the annual impact of exemptions but letting various companies apply, but those plans failed to earn support from refiners and oil-friendly lawmakers. The latest proposal, like earlier drafts, would allow year-round sales of gasoline blends containing 15pc ethanol (E15), which farm groups have pitched as a way to help corn growers and drivers alike. Regulators for years have taken emergency action to waive summertime E15 limits that prevent its sale in much of the US, but permanent access requires legislation. The latest bill comes after President Donald Trump's administration last month set record-high biofuel quotas despite concerns from refiners that the mandates would spill into already-rising pump prices. Oil companies comply with the program by blending biofuels themselves or buying often-costly Renewable Identification Number (RIN) credits from those that do. Refineries that process no more than 75,000 b/d of crude currently can apply for the annual hardship exemptions, which farm groups and biofuel refiners say hurts demand for their products. But under the latest proposal, only companies with 75,000 b/d or less of collective refining capacity across all their facilities could qualify for relief starting in 2028. Those refiners would win automatic 75pc exemptions from biofuel quotas. That would reduce the pain of the mandates on smaller refiners like Ergon but would cut off larger companies that own smaller units, including oil majors like Chevron and mid-sized refiners like HF Sinclair and Par Pacific. The proposal could soon be sent to the House Rules Committee in hopes that lawmakers agree to add it as an amendment to the Farm Bill, a major agricultural policy package historically adopted every five years, people close to the debate said. 'At-risk' refineries carve-out The one notable addition to prior proposals is a special carve-out for "at-risk" small refineries, an effort from lawmakers to assuage oil company concerns that rising biofuel mandates threaten US refining capacity. Small refineries, including those that are part of larger companies, could request these special exemptions if they can prove that they are at an "imminent risk of closure" or that they are converting into a refinery that makes biofuels instead. But that carve-out would be capped each year, starting at 150mn RINs in 2028, limiting the potential relief if multiple facilities warn they could soon idle. The Trump administration exempted nearly 1bn RINs from blend requirements for the 2024 compliance year. Another holdover from earlier drafts is a provision compensating some unnamed small refinery owners for past compliance by returning to them special RINs that do not expire. A framework shared with Argus earlier this year, tied to an earlier E15 proposal, estimated regulators could give those companies 363mn special RINs under the provision. The proposed reforms would make the program more predictable, after different presidential administrations have whipsawed from rejecting exemption petitions en masse to granting them generously. But lawmakers' past ideas have been received coolly by farm and oil interests alike, and there is no guarantee the latest plan will be added to larger legislation that could win passage in the closely divided Congress. Some Republicans in the US Senate, including agriculture committee chair John Boozman, support E15 but have been wary of limiting small-refinery exemptions. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Malaysia to raise biodiesel blend target to 15pc
Malaysia to raise biodiesel blend target to 15pc
Singapore, 17 April (Argus) — Malaysia will raise its biodiesel-fossil diesel blending target up to 15pc (B15) from the current B10, the country's economic affairs minister Akmal Nasir said this week. The country will first start with a B12 blend, which will use existing blending infrastructure without requiring additional investments, Nasir said. Malaysia's biodiesel production capacity for 2025 stands at 2.36mn t, while actual production for the year was less than half at 975,200t, he said. No timeline was laid out for a move towards the higher B15 blending target. The higher B12 blend ratio should start next month, a biodiesel producer said, adding that they were awaiting further details from blenders. Another already received a request to deliver higher volumes of biodiesel. Nasir visited PS Pipeline — a joint venture between Petronas Dagangan Berhad and Shell Malaysia Trading — at the Klang Valley Distribution Terminal earlier this week to ascertain the infrastructure's capability to store and distribute biodiesel blends. The government will also hold meetings with the oil industry technical committee to ensure implementation runs smoothly, Nasir said. Malaysia previously highlighted plans to upgrade depots in phases to supply biodiesel blends up to B20-30, under the 13th Malaysia plan released in July 2025, along with preparations for a B30 mandate for the commercial and public transport sectors. The Malaysian Biodiesel Association earlier this month urged the government to speed up rolling out higher biodiesel blends to strengthen energy security, in light of supply disruptions and price volatility for conventional fuels due to the ongoing war in the Middle East. By Malcolm Goh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil soy demand for biodiesel may rise by 72pc
Brazil soy demand for biodiesel may rise by 72pc
Sao Paulo, 16 April (Argus) — Demand for soybeans used to produce biodiesel in Brazil may increase by 72pc to 74mn metric tonnes (t) by 2035 on the back of slated gains in the country's biodiesel blending mandate, according to the soybean and corn producers' association of Mato Grosso state, Aprosoja-MT. Aprosoja-MT forecasts Brazil's biodiesel output will rise to 18mn t in 2035 from 10mn t in 2026, in large part due to the planned increase of the biodiesel blending mandate in the fuel of the future law to 24pc by 2035 from the current 15pc. Considering soybean oil represents around 70pc of the feedstocks used for biodiesel production in Brazil, according to hydrocarbons regulator ANP, demand for soy oil in 2035 would reach 12.3mn t. That means it would be necessary to crush 74mn t of soybeans to produce around 12.3mn t of oil by 2035 from 7.2mn t in 2025. Aprosoja-MT estimates Brazil's consumption of diesel, including biodiesel, of 1.4mn b/d in the 2026-35 period. In 2025, Brazil consumed an average 1.2mn b/d of diesel. The fuel of the future law establishes targets for the increase in biofuels blending in Brazil. It sets that the biodiesel blending mandate should grow by 1 percentage point/yr until 2030, which could be extended until 2035. But the increase of the blending mandate to 15pc from 14pc was delayed by six months in 2025, and the increase to 16pc — scheduled for March 2026 — has not been implemented yet because the government is still running the necessary feasibility tests . According to mines and energy ministry MME, the final report covering blends of 16-20pc is expected to be approved by late March 2027 if tests confirm these levels are feasible. That means the increase of the blending mandate to 16pc will have to wait at least until April 2027. Brazil's biodiesel demand is expected to reach 365,000 b/d in 2035, according to the association of vegetable oil industries Abiove. That would be more than double from 170,000 b/d in 2025, which reflected a 14.2pc average blending rate, according to ANP. Brazil's industrial sector would have to invest R52.2bn ($10.4bn) in new soybean crushers and biodiesel plants to be able to meet that demand, according to Abiove. By João Marinho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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