EPA reportedly delays E15 decision on older vehicles

The US Environmental Protection Agency reportedly has delayed making a decision on the use of gasoline with 15% ethanol in cars and pickup trucks built from 2001 to 2006.

As of Nov. 23, Oil & Gas Journal had received no official statement from EPA regarding the delay as reported by some other media outlets.

The American Petroleum Institute greeted the reported delay as welcomed news while the Renewable Fuels Association expressed disappointment.

RFA Pres. and Chief Executive Officer Bob Dinneen encouraged EPA to extend due diligence to testing for all cars and pickups, regardless of age. RFA is a trade association for the US ethanol industry.

“We believe the fuel testing to date clearly demonstrates the efficacy of E15 as a motor fuel for all light-duty vehicles," Dinneen said.

API Downstream Director Bob Greco said API previously suggested EPA should extend its review 6 months or more to allow scientific testing to be completed on the effects of E15 on the engines of older vehicles.

He noted the US oil and natural gas industry is the biggest consumer of ethanol and other biofuels.

“We support a realistic and workable Renewable Fuel Standard and the responsible introduction of increased biofuels in a manner that protects consumers,” Greco said. “However, rushing to allow more ethanol before we know it is safe could be disastrous for consumers and could jeopardize the future of renewable fuels."

On Oct. 13, EPA partially waived its 10% limit on ethanol, allowing up to 5% more for model year 2007 or newer cars and light trucks. DOE said testing was under way on E15’s use in 2001-06 model year vehicles, and the agency had expected to announce a decision this month. But as of Nov. 19, that decision reportedly has been delayed for up to 30 days.

Fate of oil spilled from Macondo well unclear; reminiscent of Ixtoc

Scientists expect to monitor and measure the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and its possible consequences on the environment and marine life for some time regardless of how soon BP PLC seals the deepwater Macondo well.

Predictably, the American Petroleum Institute and others have studied oil spills for decades. “Fate of spilled oil in marine waters: Where does it go? What does it do? How do dispersants affect it?” is the title of a March 1999 report from API.

The booklet, the first of three in a series, was developed for oil spill response decision-makers. The booklet’s introduction sets out a scenario involving an oil spill from a tanker accident.

Time will tell what kind of information API develops after the Macondo well spill. The closest that the US has come to experiencing a spill from an offshore well was in 1979 when Pemex had a blowout at its 1 Ixtoc discovery well in Campeche Sound (OGJ, June 11, 1979, p. 33).

The Ixtoc well was in 164 ft of water while the deepwater Macondo well is in 5,000 ft of water. Time will tell what consequences, both operational and regulatory, might stem from the deepwater spill for both the oil industry and the environment.

API reaffirms oil and gas industry commitment to safety

While the US Coast Guard searched for workers missing after an explosion and fire on a semisubmersible rig off Louisiana, American Petroleum Institute Pres. Jack N. Gerard told reporters in Houston that safety is the oil and gas industry’s top priority.

“Every time an incident happens, we ask ourselves what we can do better,” Gerard said. “We’re working for a zero-injury, zero-fatality effort.” Industry considers workers to be its “most sacred” asset, he added.

April has been marred by accidents, both upstream and downstream. An Apr. 2 explosion in a naphtha hydrotreater within Tesoro Corp.’s 120,000-b/d refinery at Anacortes, Wash., killed six employees. The hydrotreater was undergoing maintenance at the time (OGJ Online, Apr. 5, 2010).

On Apr. 12, the United Steelworkers issued a news release saying the refinery industry fails to learn from past disasters. The union called on refiners to develop and implement policies requiring full safety reviews before all process start-ups and scheduled shutdowns.

Gerard said API devotes much of its staff’s attention to safety, adding that API’s activities involve research, standards development and reviews as well as training efforts and information transfers.

On Apr. 20-21, Gerard was in Houston to speak to the local API chapter and to brief reporters. He told reporters that his thoughts were with the families of 11 missing workers.

An explosion and fire rocked the Transocean Ltd. Deepwater Horizon rig at about 10 p.m. CDT Apr. 20. The semi was drilling for BP Exploration & Production Inc. on Mississippi Canyon Block 252 about 41 miles off Louisiana.