White House reviewing 2019 biofuel mandates
The White House has begun reviewing proposed minimum renewable fuel blending levels for the US transportation supply in 2019 and 2020.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted proposed blending obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for interagency review, the first step before releasing proposed volumes for comment later this spring.
The White House Office of Management and Budget will review renewable fuel blending targets for 2019 and biodiesel blending for 2020. RFS requires refiners, importers and other companies each year ensure minimum volumes of renewables blend into the gasoline and diesel they add to the US transportation supply. EPA's renewable volume obligation process sets those minimum volumes.
The program has already received extensive presidential attention this year. A series of meetings seeking to broker a deal between agriculture and refining interests to change the mandates concluded yesterday, the White House said.
The "final decision" was to move forward with clean air waivers allowing the sale of higher-ethanol blends and cost relief for refiners. But there were scant details of how to legally accomplish those changes from the agency level, and sources familiar with the process doubted the agency would include those changes in the proposed volumes.
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Aug wildfires in Brazilian state surge eightfold
Aug wildfires in Brazilian state surge eightfold
Sao Paulo, 26 September (Argus) — Fires in Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous state, increased eightfold in August from the same month last year, an "alarming rate" amid extreme climate conditions that harm the sugarcane industry, sector associations said. The state had 11,628 fire outbreaks last month, more than triple the historic average of 3,550. Nearly half of the fires took place on 23 August alone, according to data from industry association Canaoeste and fire monitoring network GMG Ambiental. Fires hit 658,600 hectares. The town of Pitangueira had the most blazes, at 354. Altinopolis and Sertaozinho came in second and third, with 252 and 296, respectively. Nearly all of the most affected towns have high production of sugarcane. The groups highlighted that 20-24 August fires happened as low humidity, high temperatures and strong winds put Sao Paulo in "extreme risk" for wildfires. The data was shown in a meeting with several industry representatives, such as Canoeste, Unica and Orplana. The groups added that sugarcane producers were not responsible for the fires nor were benefiting from them, defending themselves from accusations that they could be lighting fires to accelerate harvesting — an old common practice supposedly abolished. By Maria Ligia Barros Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US trucking index at 18-month high in August: ATA
US trucking index at 18-month high in August: ATA
Houston, 25 September (Argus) — US trucking freight volumes rose in August to the highest level since February 2023, the American Trucking Association (ATA) said. The ATA's seasonally adjusted Truck Tonnage Index (TTI) rose in August by 1.8pc from a month earlier and by 0.7pc from a year earlier. The index has increased on a monthly and yearly basis only twice in the past 18 months, last doing so in May 2024 . August's "robust gain" indicates freight levels are rebounding from a bottom, according to ATA economist Bob Costello. The TTI's month-to-month movement so far this year also shows the freight market is "at an inflection point," Costello said. The US trucking industry contracted in 2023 and initially got off to a slow start this year. Last week, the Federal Reserve cut its target lending rates for the first time in four years , suggesting the worst inflationary pressures may be over. The TTI is calculated monthly using a survey of ATA membership to estimate seasonally-adjusted trends in the value of US truck freight. Trucking comprises roughly three-quarters of tonnage carried by all modes of transportation in the US, and so can serve as an indicator of the health of the transportation sector and the economy at large. By Gordon Pollock Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Vertex Energy files for bankruptcy, seeks sale
Vertex Energy files for bankruptcy, seeks sale
Houston, 25 September (Argus) — Specialty refiner Vertex Energy has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in a US court following a failed foray into renewable fuels production at its 88,000 b/d Mobile, Alabama, refinery. Vertex has entered into a restructuring support agreement with its lenders and secured $80mn of new funding to finance its day-to-day business operations, the company said late Tuesday. The refiner is also considering a "more value-maximizing sale transaction" and expects to confirm its chapter 11 bankruptcy plan by the end of the year, according to the 24 September press release. Vertex announced in May this year that it would "pause" renewable diesel production at its Alabama refinery and return the unit to producing fossil fuel products. The company later said it would use a third quarter turnaround to return the Alabama plant's converted hydrocracking unit to processing fossil fuel feedstocks and be back online in the fourth quarter. Vertex also operates a re-refinery near New Orleans, Louisiana, that produces low-sulfur vacuum gas oil (VGO) and multiple used motor oil (UMO) processing plants and collection facilities along the Gulf coast. Refiners have faced mixed fortunes in recent years with their investments in renewable fuels after a glut of new supply flooded markets and depressed renewable credit prices. US independent refiner Delek announced in August that it is temporarily idling three biodiesel plants in Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi as it explores alternative uses for the sites. Chevron said earlier this year it was indefinitely closing two biodiesel plants in Wisconsin and Iowa due to market conditions. By Nathan Risser Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU crushing up in August on rapeseed, US soy harvest
EU crushing up in August on rapeseed, US soy harvest
London, 25 September (Argus) — EU and UK mills crushed more soybeans and rapeseed in August compared with the previous month and a year earlier, as inclement weather caused earlier harvests this year in Europe, increasing EU supplies. But total refined oil production levels were unchanged on the month. Fewer sunflower seeds (SFS) were crushed in August than in July, as high SFS prices lowered margins for crushers. Total oilseed crush levels increased on the month by 7pc to 3.5mn t in August, led by greater volumes of crushed soybeans and rapeseed, which increased by 6pc and 13pc, respectively. The UK and EU imported 135,000t less oilseeds on the month in August as the European harvest began, resulting in about 1.35mn t of imports in total. Production of semi-refined oil — typically used in the biodiesel sector — increased by 7pc on the month. But fully-refined oil — typically for the food sector — fell by 4pc, leaving total refined oil production virtually unchanged on the month. Rapeseed crushing rose by 13pc on the month in August and by 5pc on the year, as Ukraine, the UK and the EU began harvesting their 2024-25 harvests 3-4 weeks earlier than usual, given the crop's earlier flowering and ripening with unfavourable weather conditions. Soybean crushing continued to increase in August. But the share of soybeans in total oilseed imports has fallen — from 78.5pc in July to 71pc in August. The EU and the UK imported 200,000 fewer tonnes of soybeans in August than in July — or about 960,500t of soybeans in total. SFS crushing fell by 14pc in August to 0.4mn t on high SFS prices and limited stocks in the EU and Ukraine, as new-crop SFS arrivals — for the 2024-25 marketing year — do not start before this month. Nevertheless, SFS crushing increased by 17pc across the first seven months of this year on the back of greater EU crushing capacity. The strongest seed crushing growth expected by the USDA is in Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary, and to a lesser extent in Germany and Italy. By Madeleine Jenkins EU + UK crushing volumes mn t Aug-24 Jul-24 m-o-m change Aug-23 y-o-y change Jan-Aug 24 Jan-Aug 23 y-o-y change Soybean 1.21 1.14 6% 1.15 5% 9.5 9.6 -1% Sunflower seed 0.39 0.45 -14% 0.37 5% 4.0 3.4 17% Rapeseed 1.88 1.67 13% 1.72 9% 13.3 12.6 5% Semi-refined 0.35 0.33 7% 0.34 3% 2.7 2.6 5% Fully-refined 0.60 0.62 -4% 0.57 4% 4.9 4.5 8% Total Total oilseed 3.48 3.25 7% 3.24 7% 26.8 25.6 5% Total refined 0.95 0.95 0% 0.91 4% 7.5 7.0 7% Fediol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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