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Petroleum refiners will receive legislative relief in 1996 because of the election year. Nevertheless, they face several regulatory challenges, chief among them the national fuel program of the Clean Air Act Amendments. Other contentious issues include fuel controls for the national low-emission vehicle, nitrogen oxides requirements for Phase II reformulated gasoline, and the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Transportation Program., Although election-year politics will handcuff the legislative branch of the federal government this year, oil refiners will have both hands full trying to stave off the tightening grip of federal [...]

Negotiations continue between the US and Venezuela over standards on the importation of reformulated gasoline from Venezuela's Petroles de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA). PDVSA argues that the US Environmental Protection Agency's standards for imported foreign gasoline are higher than the domestic requirements and do not comply with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Venezuelan exports make up from 20% to 25% of all gasoline imported into the US., WASHINGTON -- Venezuela will continue talks with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in an attempt to resolve the dispute over reformulated gasoline standards, a Venezuelan official said. 'We hope through [...]

Gasoline marketers are divided over legislation pending in Congress that would mandate divorcement and place restrictions on wholesale pricing. The bills have the support of many independent jobbers and dealers, who are incensed about 'price inversion,' a situation where a company sells gasoline at high wholesale prices while undercutting independents at its retail outlets. Refiners and some marketers resist legislation, claiming that inequities are the result of government attempts to keep prices low during the Persian Gulf War., WASHINGTON -- The gasoline marketing sector of the oil industry appears to be split right down the middle over proposed bills in Congress that would divorce oil companies from operating [...]

WASHINGTON -- One day in 2001 when Colin McMartin was working in refining economics and planning at Phillips Petroleum, he took a close look at the long list of stringent [...]

WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Thursday set the stage for areas with unhealthy air to begin meeting new smog standards by taking up appropriate pollution-control measures, including the [...]

NEW ORLEANS -- The US Northeast can expect gasoline prices to go wild next year as the market adjusts to new environmental regulations. As the US states of New York [...]

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is seeking a rehearing on an appeals court ruling that directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reconsider its rejection of California's request for an [...]

WASHINGTON -- At loggerheads over phasing out methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) use in gasoline, Senate and House Republicans leaders are looking for a face-saving deal for both sides that [...]

California Governor Gray Davis on Wednesday asked the Environmental Protection Agency to waive a requirement that gasoline contain oxygenates like ethanol, claiming the law causes supply and price problems. The [...]

WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Thursday by a resounding vote of 67-29 approved a proposal to drastically increase the use of ethanol and other renewable fuels in gasoline, a move [...]

WASHINGTON -- A sweeping energy bill, shelved for well over three weeks, will finally be front and center in the Senate as lawmakers reconvene today after a week-long recess for [...]

With New York set to phase out use of the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) by the end of the year, a key state senate committee on Tuesday [...]

Presidential Candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) wrote a letter to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham on Monday, requesting an investigation into volatile petroleum markets and to probe whether consumers are being [...]

Environmental Group Targets MTBE Liability Protection in Bill As key congressional leaders held hectic discussions Tuesday on a broad energy bill, controversy swirled over the push by some members to [...]

Negotiators to Cut Deals on Energy Bill US Senate and House leaders negotiating a broad energy bill will meet today with the purpose of cutting deals on a host of [...]

House Tinkers with Ethanol, Pushes ANWR in Energy Bill In a move that will likely cause some rumblings among their Senate colleagues, House negotiators on Thursday pushed for drilling in [...]

Downstream Investors Wary Of Brazil In Fear of 'Lula' Victory For downstream operators looking to expand their investment horizons, Brazil is probably not on the top of their list these [...]

FTC Faults 'Below Cost' Gasoline Proposal The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is slamming two pieces of legislation relating to below-cost retail gasoline pricing and rules for opening new retail service [...]

Coalition Fights to Keep Increased Ethanol Use Mandate in Energy Bill Despite encouraging noises from Rep. W.J. 'Billy' Tauzin (R- La.), the likely head of the energy bill conference committee, [...]

Agencies' Energy Bill Review Criticizes Renewables, Pipeline Provisions With Senate and House members poised to go to a conference committee to reconcile different versions of the energy bill, a Bush [...]

Hawaii Set to Become First State to Introduce Gasoline Price Caps Attempting to create a remedy for chronic high pump prices in the state, the Hawaii legislature last week approved [...]

EPA Official Says Environmental Laws Not Behind Gasoline Price Spikes A key Bush administration official on Wednesday told a House panel that -- contrary to oil industry claims -- environmental [...]

Senate Rejects Move To Thwart Compromise Deal On Increased Ethanol Use A move by California and New York senators that would have killed a compromise deal calling for increased use [...]

Ethanol Furor Intensifies in US Senate Vexed by California's unilateral decision to delay switching from methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) to ethanol for use in gasoline production, Sen. Chuck Grassley [...]

California Governor Pushes Back MTBE Ban Sweeping aside concerns of oil companies and environmental groups, California Gov. Gray Davis on Friday delayed a ban on the use of methyl tertiary [...]

Bingaman Sees Energy Bill Getting Senate Nod As the US Senate prepares to debate the more controversial points of a comprehensive energy bill, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D- N.M.), chairman of [...]

Cardoso Halts Gas Price Hike, Rationing as Brazil Enters Political Campaigning Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso made two politically popular, if questionable, energy moves in recent days when he halted [...]

EPA Bows to Refiner Pressure, Lifts Apr. 15 Deadline for Summer-Spec RFG Bowing to pressure from the nation's refiners, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has backed down from its [...]

Hectic Backstage Posturing Underway Ahead of Energy Bill Debate in Senate Behind-the-scenes posturing on key issues impacting the oil industry, including the Alaska natural gas pipeline, the fuels mandate, and [...]

No Change Seen in Cafe Standards Federal regulators proposed no change Friday in fuel economy standards for light trucks in the 2004 model year, but will listen to arguments for [...]

After Full Deregulation, Brazil Puts Pressure on States to Cut Back Fuel Taxes Days after the Brazilian government implemented full deregulation of its gasoline and diesel fuel market -- ending [...]

EU Advances Fuels Deadline The European Commission has brought forward the deadline for introducing sulfur-free gasoline and diesel by two years. European Union (EU) members will now have to switch [...]

Thailand to Endorse 'Green' Fuel Thailand will officially endorse a formula for gasohol -- a mixture of gasoline and ethanol -- this month in a bid to cut pollution levels [...]

EPA Ducks on RFG Oxygen Mandate; Offers 'Flexibility' Flexibility, rather than rollback, is the watchword of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) report on US gasoline specifications, though the agency punted [...]

New Hampshire Unveils RFG Alternative The state of New Hampshire on Tuesday moved to break free of the federal reformulated gasoline (RFG) program by approving a new gasoline that would [...]

Feds, States Slap Stations for Profiteering At least two states hit alleged gasoline station price gougers with lawsuits last week in the wake of terrorist attacks on the World Trade [...]

Smog Clouds California Regulations Worsening smog in California's San Joaquin Valley, the heart of the state's farm country, looks likely to further complicate efforts to make cleaner-burning gasoline that satisfies [...]

EPA Gives Citgo RFG Rules a Break in Midwest The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responded quickly to spiking gasoline prices in the Midwest by easing certain environmental requirements for reformulated [...]

California Eyes Ethanol Imports from Brazil California remains belligerent over a federal clean air rule forcing states to use oxygen-enhancing additives in producing cleaner-burning reformulated gasoline (RFG). The state took [...]

ANWR, Oxygenates Could Light Up Energy Debate Against the backdrop of a cooling US economy and weaker energy prices, the House will stoke a heated debate this week by taking [...]

State, Local Groups Fight for a Voice As EPA Considers 'Menu' of Gasoline Options With the Bush administration planning to develop a national gasoline program -- or at least a [...]

VENEZUELA -- Any hopes that a new hydrocarbon law would signal a deeper upstream opening in the country's oil industry, even partial privatization of state PDV, were dashed when the [...]

House Panel Votes to Keep Oxygenates in RFG A three-way duel of words broke out in the House Energy and Commerce Committee over the federal requirement to use oxygenates to [...]

EPA Finalizes Ethanol Rule The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday signed a final rule to help reduce costs for blending ethanol into gasoline, an action that formalizes the agency's [...]

EPA Denies California Waiver The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Tuesday it rejected California's request for a waiver from federal rules requiring cleaner gasoline in a decision expected to give [...]

Ruling on California Fuels to Have Ripple Effect In the ongoing struggle between the oil and ethanol industries over regulations for producing clean-burning gasoline, the Bush administration -- despite the [...]

UK Stations Using Clean Fuel Major oil firms in the UK have completed the switch to ultra- low sulfur gasoline at all gasoline stations, ahead of next week's deadline for [...]

US Refiners Watch as Low-Sulfur -- and Sulfur-Free -- FuelsSink In for European Counterparts Facing their own country's tighter fuel specifications, US refiners watched as the European Union (EU) recently [...]

Texaco Unit Fined for Pollution Texaco said Monday that one of its wholly owned subsidiaries was hit with a $4 million fine and one-year probation after pleading guilty to two [...]

EU Slates Gasoline Sulfur Phaseout by 2011 The European Commission said Friday that it has proposed new legislation to phase out sulfur in gasoline by 2011, a measure the oil [...]