Midwest Attorneys Reach US Administrative to Proceed on Ethanol Blended Fuel Petition

Illinois- The average price of gasoline in the United States has increased more than 10% over the past month, putting the Fed's fight against inflation and possibly prolonging the large advance in refinery stock prices. E15 is blended Ethanol fuel with 15% Ethanol and 75% fuel incorporation. The proposal was made to improvise the gasoline production capacity. The attorneys general of the Midwest countries (Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota) submitted a petition in April 2022 asking the US government to pay attention to the submitted issue of year-round E15 sales in the United States. In the last week of January 2023, the market prices for Ethanol ranged between USD 710 to 760 per MT, FOB Texas (USA).

The officials have requested the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to release the regulations authorizing E15 within 90 days after receiving a request from a governor. Under a section of the Clean Air Act, Administrator Michael Regan is trying to find a solution to year-round E15 sales by asking that the 1-psi volatility exemptions for the Gasoline-Ethanol mix in the state be repealed. The governor's request is currently the subject of a rulemaking process and inclines Ethanol production in the US market. On December 5, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave the Office of Management and Budget of the United States a Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the E15 petition. The 2022 Fall Unified Agenda and Regulatory Plan, which was published on January 4, 20223, by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), also addressed the petition. This coordinated agenda suggests that the EPA plans to wrap up the E15 rulemaking by March 2023.

As per ChemAnalyst, as the Asian market is reviving, the US market players predict having better trading mechanisms and increased Ethanol production. The demand for Ethanol from the food and pharmaceutical industries remains moderate compared to biofuel production. The overall market is anticipated to move forward at a stagnant pace.