Refiners are on target to supply federally mandated low-sulfur highway diesel fuel in the next 4-6 years, the US Environmental Protection Agency said Oct. 30. The agency recently analyzed industry data tracking compliance.
"EPA's clean diesel standards are an important reason Americans can expect air quality to continue to improve in the years ahead," said Jeff Holmstead, EPA assistant administrator for air and radiation.
Under EPA's January 2001 rule, any refiner or importer planning to produce or import highway diesel fuel in 2006-10 is required to submit a "precompliance report" to EPA. The reports are due annually from June 2003 through 2005 and must contain information that includes the amount of low-sulfur fuel that will be produced or imported, the number of credits that will be generated or used, and a projected compliance time line. The agency is mandating low-sulfur diesel as part of a larger clean air program that also includes cleaner vehicles that are being designed to run on the lower-polluting fuels.
Clear snapshot
Although EPA stressed the industry information is preliminary, the agency said the results provide the "clearest snapshot" currently available of the highway diesel fuel market. Based on current projections for 2006, 96% of the nearly 3 million b/d of highway diesel produced will meet the 15 ppm sulfur standard.
EPA's analysis of the information supplied from 126 refiners shows that fuel suppliers are positioned to comply with the 15 ppm sulfur standard on time; highway diesel fuel production will be sufficient to meet demand; and 15 ppm sulfur diesel fuel will be widely available nationwide.
In October 2002, EPA oversaw a stakeholder-driven clean diesel review panel that updated technical advances being made to comply with the highway rule. The American Petroleum Institute and the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association endorsed the work of the panel, whose members determined that technology issues would not prevent regulators from moving forward with the rule. And while the panel was not charged with tackling cost issues, refiners made presentations indicating they still held reservations about the timing and scope of the rule because of distribution changes (OGJ, Nov. 11, 2002, p. 7).
Since then, many of those fears have subsided although some companies say there is always the potential for price spikes when handling specialty fuels.
