Trump EPA backs down on biofuel waivers in blow to US refiners

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Trump administration has decided not to appeal a court ruling that would sharply reduce its use of waivers exempting refineries from the nation’s biofuels regulation, cheering the corn lobby but drawing anger from oil refiners, reported Reuters.

The administration had until the end of March 24 to file a challenge, but by early March 25, no such filing had been entered, according to a case docket on the US government’s electronic access service for court records.

Officials for the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

The decision appears to end a years-long battle between the rival oil and corn industries, two crucial political constituencies for President Donald Trump, over the waiver program. Refiners argue the waivers are crucial to keeping small refining facilities in business, but agriculture representatives say they have been overused and hurt farmers by eroding demand for corn-based ethanol.

The stakes have only grown recently, as both industries are hard-hit by the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Under the US Renewable Fuel Standard, refiners are required to blend billions of gallons of ethanol into their gasoline every year. But the EPA, which administers the program, can give out waivers to small facilities that prove that compliance would put them in financial straits.

The Trump administration has roughly quadrupled the number of waivers the EPA grants to refiners. Reuters reporting has shown that some of those waivers have been going to small facilities owned by huge, profitable companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp, as well as to operations owned by billionaire Trump ally Carl Icahn.

The waiver program was cast into question in January after the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Trump administration had been too free with the waivers and set a standard for the exemptions that would greatly reduce the numbers of waivers the EPA can grant.

Since the ruling, the EPA has been in deliberations with the White House and the Department of Justice over how to respond.

The country’s main lobby group for oil refiners blasted the EPA’s decision not to challenge the court ruling.

"It is astonishing that President Trump has abandoned our country’s small-refinery workers and the communities that rely on these critical facilities in this time of national crisis and economic uncertainty," said Chet Thompson, head of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers group.

Refiners involved in the court case have asked for a rehearing, but it is unclear if the requests would be granted in the absence of support from the EPA.

The biofuels industry, meanwhile, cheered the decision.

"Requesting a re-hearing would have only prolonged uncertainty in the marketplace and exacerbated the pain and frustration already being experienced in the Heartland," said groups including the Renewable Fuels Association in a statement.

Sources had told Reuters earlier this month that the Trump administration was likely to adhere to the court’s ruling and apply it nationally. The agency, meanwhile, was discussing the possibility of other measures to ease the financial burden on refiners, the sources said.

Such measures could include price caps on biofuel blending credits that refiners must earn or purchase to show compliance with the RFS, according to the sources.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of PET chips into Russia decreased by 2% in two months of this year compared to the same time a year ago and reached 18,300 tonnes compared to 18,700 tonnes (excluding supplies from Belarus over the past two months), according to MRC's DataScope.

Russia's PET imports decreased by 42% in February to 6,700 tonnes against 11,600 tonnes in January; last February material imports amounted to 9,800 tonnes. Imports of Chinese injection moulding PET chips in Russia decreased by 26% in Jan-Feb, compared with the same period a year ago and reached 12,900 tonnes. The same indicator in January-February 2019 amounted to 17,400 tonnes.
The share of bottle PET imports from China since the beginning of the year has decreased compared to the same period of the previous year and amounted to 71% against 93%. The share of Chinese material was 92% (6,200 tonnes) in February versus 58% (6,700 tonnes) a month earlier. This figure was at 9,100 tonnes in February 2019.

Last month, the largest number of external deliveries of injection moulding PET chips to the Russian market was at Yisheng and Sinopec manufacturers - 3,200 tonnes and 2,300 tonnes, respectively.
The top 5 Chinese suppliers this year are as follows: Yisheng delivered 4,900 tonnes of injection moulding PET chips, Jiangsu - 2,900 tonnes, Sinopec - 2,600 tonnes, Indorama - 1,700 tonnes, Wankai - 500 tonnes.

The share of Lithuanian PET produced by Neo Group in January - February of this year significantly increased and amounted to 24% (4,400 tonnes) compared to 2% (300 tonnes) in the same period in 2019.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India's ONGC Petro Additions (OPaL) has yet to make any force majeure declaration, but its operations are also likely to be severely affected, reported Argus.

Opal has a 1.1mn t/yr cracker at Dahej in the western state of Gujarat.

Downstream operations include 350,000 t/yr polypropylene (PP), 340,000 t/yr high density polyethylene (HDPE) and swing 720,000 t/yr HDPE/linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) units.

As MRC wrote previously, in December 2019, Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) announced that it had shelved its stake sale plans for OPaL unable to attract a strategic partner.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).

OPaL is a joint venture between Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC), Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) and ONGC.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Supreme Petrochem, a polystyrene (PS) and expandable polystyrene (EPS) producer in India, intends to impose force majeure on supplies as a result of the lockdown, reported Argus.

Supreme is the largest styrene monomer (SM) importer in India and operates 272,000 t/yr PS and 80,000 t/yr EPS units.

As MRC informed before, in January 2016, Supreme Petrochem received approval for modification of one of the three PS producing lines at the plant in villages Amdoshi, Wangani in the state of Maharashtra into a swing line capable of producing 42,500 TPA of SMMA (Styrene Methyl Methacrylate) in addition to PS.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics rose in February 2020 by 14% year on year to 39,890 tonnes. The estimated consumption totalled 80,570 tonnes in the first two months of 2020, which corresponded to the last year's figure. Overall, Russian plants produced 41,060 tonnes in February 2020..

Supreme Petrochem Ltd., incorporated in the year 1989, is a Mid Cap company (having a market cap of Rs 1140.65 Cr.) operating in petrochemicals sector. Supreme Petrochem Ltd (SPL) is India’s largest producer and exporter of polystyrene polymer based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. In Indian market it has share of more than 50%. SPL is also the largest exporter of PS from India, exporting to over 93 countries around the globe.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of expandable polystyrene (EPS) to the Russian market fell in the first two months of 2020 by 15% year on year to 2,400 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

This figure was at 2,800 tonnes in January-February 2019.

The Finnish producer Styrochem's material accounted for the bulk of shipments - 58% of the total EPS imports. Finnish imports grew over the stated period by 11% year on year: to 1,400 tonnes from 1,300 tonnes a year earlier, whereas one of the leading suppliers - Loyal - reduced its shipments to the region by three and a half times. This year's share of Loyal imports was only 8%, compared to 22% a year earlier.

February EPS imports to Russia decreased by 24% year on year to 1,000 tonnes from 1,300 tonnes a year earlier, imports of material into the country were 1,400 tonnes in January 2020.

MRC