Big Oil’s Valero Secret Fight To Stop Biofuels

Refiner Valero's secret campaign against U.S. biofuels mandates

Chris Prentice Reuters w/Erwin Seba, August 21, 2017 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

“U.S. biofuels regulations, which mandate mixing corn-based ethanol into gasoline, have lately drawn together a diverse cast of political opponents…Even the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), a leading biofuels industry group, recently dropped its opposition to policy changes sought by this ad hoc coalition…[T]hey share one key connection — close ties to Valero Energy Corp., America's largest oil refiner…As part of an extensive behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign, Valero played a key role in bringing these people and groups together around a policy proposal that could save the refiner hundreds of millions of dollars each year in regulatory costs…Valero is a big loser under current regulations, which require refiners to either blend biofuels into their gasoline and diesel or buy government-issued credits from firms that do such mixing…Valero was forced to spend $750 million last year alone buying the credits…The policy overhaul favored by Valero would free refiners from the obligation to blend biofuels or buy credits, shifting that burden to firms further down the supply chain toward retailers…Such a change would amount to a multi-billion-dollar transfer of wealth to Valero…” click here for more

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