Argus Group Three RBOB
Argus recently launched a calculated assessment for reformulated gasoline in Group Three. This move comes following recent changes that were made in gasoline specifications for the Denver, Colorado, area in 2024.
Summertime conventional gasoline sales in Denver, Colorado ended on 7 November 2023 when the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandated reformulated gasoline for the metropolitan area during the summer season. The shift in specifications was first announced by the EPA ruling in November 2022 when it found the region was not meeting federal ozone standards. Reformulated gasoline burns cleaner than its conventional counterpart but is also a more expensive fuel to produce.
For the winter months, Denver gasoline prices will likely change little from years past. The Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) levels for reformulated gasoline will likely closely mimic those seen in Group Three’s conventional gasoline market for the southern portion of the midcontinent.
But come summer – which is defined as 1 June through 15 September – Denver area retailers will be required to sell 7.4 RVP reformulated gasoline, as opposed to a prior requirement of 7.8 RVP conventional fuel. This is expected to widen Denver's premium to conventional prices in nearby regions.
Denver reformulated gasoline's premium to sub-octane gasoline prices in adjacent states such as Oklahoma and Kansas should be similar to spreads between Gulf coast CBOB and Gulf coast RBOB. Denver's reformulated gasoline supply will come from a combination of shipments from the midcontinent and Gulf coast markets, as well as from Suncor's 103,000 b/d refinery in nearby Commerce City, Colorado.
Group Three RBOB Methodology
Prices for Regular RBOB are published year-round for 10,000 bl on a fob Tulsa, Oklahoma basis.
Prices are calculated by applying the spread between the prompt Argus Regular Texas Destination RBOB and Regular Colonial CBOB from the US Gulf coast markets to the respective prompt Magellan suboctane V grade price. The use of the spread value mitigates the end-of-summer shift in Colonial RVP specifications.
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Author: Paul Dahlgren, Editor, Refined Products Americas – Gasoline Markets
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India exports more ethanol to Africa to manage surplus
India exports more ethanol to Africa to manage surplus
Mumbai, 20 July (Argus) — Indian ethanol producers are targeting alternative markets including domestic and African industrial buyers to draw down surplus stock after national oil companies bought less than expected for gasoline blending. India's ethanol surplus has worsened because private distillers increased production capacity on expectations of a more rapid rise in India's ethanol blending mandate. Many built dedicated ethanol plants, distilleries, storage facilities and logistics networks to meet India's blending targets. Public sector banks have financed nearly 1 trillion rupees/yr ($10bn/yr) of investments in ethanol production and associated infrastructure, according to the oil ministry. National oil companies have maintained their national ethanol procurement levels, but the build out has caused the number of bids in tenders issued by oil marketing companies (OMCs) to exceed national fuel requirements, so oil companies have significantly reduced quotas from individual facilities. For individual distilleries, this has resulted in losses after significant investment in ethanol plant expansions, a Delhi-based ethanol producer said. VINP Distilleries and Sugars, a dedicated ethanol plant in Karnataka that which sells fuel ethanol exclusively to state-run OMCs under contract, filed a lawsuit in late 2025 after its ethanol production quota was reduced by 58pc from its bid of 93mn litres to 39mn litres after OMCs issued a tender for 10.5bn litres for Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) of 2025–26. The Karnataka High Court on 16 June ruled in favour of VINP Distilleries and ordered OMCs to honour their contractual agreements. But the Supreme Court of India has stayed this order after an appeal by state-run Bharat Petroleum (BPCL). Producers are now relying on sales in the spot market. This includes targeting domestic industrial-grade buyers who had bought less US imports than usual because of higher prices. Argus assessed delivered ethanol cfr Mumbai prices at close to a two-year high of $830/t in early May, while US prices also rose sharply on the back of the announcement of record-high domestic blend targets . Increased freight costs due to the outbreak of the US-Iran war also supported higher prices on a cfr basis. But prices have cooled recently, mirroring declines in US ethanol prices. Argus -assessed Mumbai CFR was last priced at $720/t. Indian ethanol producers are left with limited avenues to sell their surplus product overseas. The government forbids the export of fuel ethanol produced from food crops, while Indian exports of undenatured bulk industrial ethanol remain uncompetitive in global markets due to the use of resource-intensive feedstocks such as sugarcane and maize. Turning to Africa African nations such as Ghana and the Ivory Coast are emerging destinations for Indian ethanol. The continent requires extra-neutral alcohol (ENA)-grade ethanol to sustain its beverage industry, as well as its cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors. Flows from India this year have increased significantly from minimal volumes in previous years, a Karachi-based Pakistani trader said. These volumes are competing with Pakistani supply. Pakistani volumes to Africa increased since the European Commission suspended tariff-free access to Pakistan's ethanol exports to the 27-nation bloc on 20 June 2025. Traders have since also shifted their focus building new export markets in Asia such as South Korea and Japan. Shipments to Africa are sent in drums rather than bulk tanks because of limited opportunities to find return cargoes. Drums, once emptied, can be reused at the destination and are more economical. Offers for Indian ENA in ISO tanks delivered to the African coast are currently as low as $0.62/litre including the drum cost, a Ghana-based Indian ethanol trader said. Similar Pakistani ENA ISO tanks are priced around $0.80/litre. Karachi's ethanol shipments to Africa have been affected by the Middle East war, Pakistan's ethanol manufacturer Hunza Sugar Mills' head of trade Rizwan Hussain said, attributing higher drum rates to increased delivered ethanol prices. Pakistan has been unable to lower its prices to compete with Indian drums because it does not have an established polymers manufacturing industry and relies primarily on raw materials from the Middle East to produce drums. Supplies of these raw materials have been severely affected by the conflict in the Middle East. But cheaper Indian prices could be seasonal. OMCs are expected to issue their next major ethanol procurement tender in September. This, together with tightening supplies as the market moves into the off-season production period, is likely to support prices and divert supplies towards meeting domestic demand. This may make Pakistani ethanol more competitive, although the cyclical nature of pricing between India and Pakistan will repeat over time, Hussain said. Other Pakistani participants were also sceptical on whether this was a temporary phase or a lasting shift. India has been preparing to raise its fuel blending mandate through several policy developments. A potential higher mandate would enable better utilisation of domestic capacity and support ethanol prices for local producers. By Nikhil Sharma Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Ghana’s PHDC to start phase one build by year end
Ghana’s PHDC to start phase one build by year end
Accra, 17 July (Argus) — Ghana's privately-owned Petroleum Hub Development Corporation (PHDC) is set to start first phase construction of its $60bn 900,000 b/d refinery project by the end of the year, the company's operations and technical director Kwabena Owusu Abrokwa told Argus on the sidelines of the GhIPCON conference in Accra. PHDC is waiting for compensation to be paid out by the state to those affected by the acquisition of land for the project, Abrokwa said. After that process is completed this year, construction should begin at the site for the first phase of the petroleum hub project by year-end. The first of three 300,000 b/d refineries and a 90,000 b/d petrochemical plant are planned in a first phase, along with 3mn m³ of storage tank capacity and a jetty. The first phase will take five years to complete. Initial agreements and contracts are signed for the first phase of the project to begin once land acquisition and compensation processes are resolved. Argus previously reported PHDC signing an initial agreement with Mighty Gager on 17 March to build 2mn t of oil storage tanks. The first phase is "almost taking off in terms of construction", Abrokwa said. The payment of adequate compensation and excess land purchase have been part of the "most significant issue" besetting the project, the company's deputy head Halimatu Sadia Abdulai previously said on 17 March . PHDC reduced the land holdings for the project from 20,000 acres to 12,500 acres in response to local petitioning against its scope, according to Abrokwa. PHDC will retain access to wetlands on the planned site, which the company seeks to preserve, he said. The location of the proposed refining hub in Jomoro, southwest Ghana, will allow the project to accept any sized vessel in the world, Abrokwa said, compared with the existing port of Tema, which serves the state-owned 45,000 b/d Tema and privately-owned 40,000 b/d Sentuo refineries east of Accra. Waters offshore Jomoro are as deep as 27 metres, compared with around 16 metres in Tema, according to Abrokwa. This would allow the refining complex to eventually take any sized crude cargo or load any sized vessel with refined products. Upon completion, the export-oriented PHDC refinery project would seek to supply west Africa and Africa more broadly with refined products from its refining and petrochemical complex, Abrokwa said. Road fuel demand in sub-Saharan Africa is due to rise strongly over the decades ahead because of population growth. Gasoil and gasoline demand are set to rise by 59pc and 50pc, respectively, from 2023 levels to 70mn t/yr and 60mn t/yr, according to consultancy Citac. Ghanaian fuel consumption alone grew by 15.3pc on the year to 4.5bn litres last year, head of Ghana's Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies Riverson Oppong told the conference. Fuel demand growth is strongly correlated to economic growth, where Ghana's economy grew by 6pc in 2025, according to the Ghana Statistical Service. By George Maher-Bonnett Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Thailand's Bangchak supplies SAF to Thai Airways
Thailand's Bangchak supplies SAF to Thai Airways
Singapore, 17 July (Argus) — Thailand's Bangchak supplied blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to Thai Airways, used on a Bangkok-Singapore flight on 16 July. This also marked Bangchak's first SAF sale to an airline. The SAF was produced from Bangchak's Phra Khanong refinery, which came on line in mid-May with a 1mn litre/d (277,400t/yr) production capacity. The plant consumes used cooking oil (UCO) as its primary feedstock, and its production and supply system are certified under internationally-recognised International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Corsia and ISCC EU standards, Bangchak said on 16 July. The SAF was supplied via the pipeline system operated by Bangkok Fuel Pipeline and Logistics (BPT) to Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport. It was then delivered to the aviation fuel depot operated by Bangkok Aviation Fuel Services Public Company Limited (BAFS) at the airport, before entering the aircraft refuelling system under the same standards applied to conventional aviation fuel. Bangchak declined to reveal publicly the volumes supplied and the pricing basis which the deal was concluded against. Its refinery had previously shipped out its first SAF cargo in May to a term buyer in Europe, sold on an Argus -linked formula price. Around 9,500t of was SAF exported from Thailand in June, and possibly 10,000t in July, vessel-tracking data from Kpler show. No hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) exports have been recorded yet, as Thailand currently restricts HVO exports from the country. Thailand has a voluntary target of 0.5-1pc SAF usage on international routes this year, to rise in stages to 8pc in 2036. By Sarah Giam Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil soybean oil exports may exceed forecasts
Brazil soybean oil exports may exceed forecasts
Sao Paulo, 16 July (Argus) — Brazil's soybean oil exports may surpass projections made at the beginning of 2026, driven higher by rising international demand, a trend likely to bolster prices and inflate biodiesel production costs. Soybean oil shipments could total 2mn metric tonnes (t) in 2026, according to grain processing companies. That's above the 1.6mn t projection from Brazil's association of vegetable oil industries Abiove at the beginning of the year. Soybean oil dispatches in the first half of the year totaled 1mn t, according to data from trade ministry Mdic. Even with the prospect of higher than expected exports, the supply of soybean oil in Brazil's domestic market is expected to remain sufficient to meet requirements of its biodiesel and food sectors. But increased competition for the product is likely to reduce its availability and drive up prices. Soybean oil's profitability is fueling interest in exports. For vertically integrated companies — those that operate across different stages of the supply chain, from feedstock production to fuel manufacturing — it has been more advantageous to sell the oil on the international market than to use it for biodiesel production. Argus indicators highlight the price disparity. Last week, soybean oil traded, on average, at R5,958 ($1,170)/t at the port of Paranagua, while the average price of biodiesel contracts in the Parana–Santa Catarina region stood at R5,628/t. The same trend took place in Mato Grosso state, where soybean oil averaged R5,725/t, compared with biodiesel contracts of R5,405/t in the state's north and R5,551/t in the south. Soybean crushers are also struggling to negotiate soybean oil prices with biodiesel producers that are not vertically integrated or lack the capacity to fully meet their demand for the input. According to the sector, these plants are pushing for lower prices in their counter offers to purchase soybean oil, given the narrower margins on their bi-monthly biofuel supply contracts. Despite biodiesel plants' resistance to higher soybean oil prices, the sector remains the largest market for crushers. In 2025, approximately 6.7mn t — around 56pc of national soybean oil production — were used for biodiesel production, according to Argus estimates. Exports, meanwhile, totaled 1.3mn t during the same period, accounting for nearly 11pc of production, according to data from Abiove. International demand The increased international demand for Brazilian soybean oil comes amid a rise in the mandatory biodiesel blending in diesel in Indonesia and Malaysia, putting Brazil on the radar of vegetable oil buyers. In Indonesia, the biofuel blend in fossil fuel has increased to 50pc from 40pc, a measure likely to boost domestic palm oil consumption and reduce the product's supply on the international market. The increase in the blending mandate comes as Indonesian palm oil production is expected to begin a downward trend. Among the main challenges are aging trees, an insufficient replanting rate and declining yields. Malaysia, another major palm oil producer, is also considering raising the mandatory biodiesel blend in diesel to 50pc. The country is working toward the goal of gradually increasing the share of biofuel to 30pc by 2030 in land transportation. The mandatory blend now sits at 10pc nationwide, but some regions have already adopted a 20pc blend. By Natalia Dalle Cort Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.