The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), a US ethanol industry advocate, is urging president Donald Trump to expand access to 15pc ethanol blend gasoline (E15) to mitigate any fuel price spikes that may result from ongoing Middle East tensions.
E15 sells for 10-25¢/USG less than E10 gasoline, but its use is limited to 3pc of US retail fuel stations, RFA chief executive Geoff Cooper said in a 24 June letter to Trump.
The US has plentiful ethanol supplies, with stocks at a "seasonal" record, according to the letter. Stocks last week were 1.3mn bl below an all-time high 25.7mn bl reached in early February, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.
The US also has 130,000 b/d of idled ethanol production capacity, which could be restarted to meet demand from broader E15 access, the trade group said.
WTI crude futures fell by nearly $10/bl early this week after after Israel and Iran agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire, further quelling fears of an oil supply disruption in the Middle East. But if Iran decides to block the Strait of Hormuz, a vital crude shipping route, US gasoline prices could jump by 75¢/USG, Cooper said in the letter.
Allowing more ethanol into the US fuel supply "can help contain potential price spikes at the pump", Cooper said.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued fuel emergency summer waivers for E15 gasoline nationwide for a fourth straight year on 1 May, while eight midcontinent states — Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin — presently have year-round access to E15.
In addition to a continuing emergency E15 fuels waivers through 15 September, Cooper urged Trump to establish a presumption of E15 compatibility with fuel infrastructure installed after 1998 to alleviate concerns that higher ethanol blends can damage equipment.
