E15 – gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol that has EPA approval  – is one of those ideas that looks good on paper but seems headed for problems in the real world. API’s Bob Greco, director for downstream and industry operations, outlined some of them for reporters during a conference call:

• Testing so far shows the higher concentration of ethanol would not be fully compatible with much of the dispensing and storage equipment the nation’s gas stations. A recent API review estimated half of the existing retail outlet equipment isn’t E15 compatible.
• As a result, there could be damage to equipment, safety problems and potential environmental concerns at gas stations.
• Difficulties with E15 getting into the market could erode public support for the nation’s renewable fuels progr... more »

API Chief Economist John Felmy, discussing gasoline prices and other issues in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday:

“By far, the single biggest factor in today’s higher gasoline prices is the rising cost of crude oil. It has driven virtually all of the rise in gasoline prices. Crude oil prices are up because of supply and demand. World demand for crude is increasing as the economies of the world begin to recover, and the world’s excess oil production capacity is shrinking. Buyers of crude oil also are clearly concerned about the instability of major oil producing nations in North Africa and the Middle East.”

Felmy described how the price of a gallon of gasoline is dominated by two factors: the cost of the crude oil used to make it and taxes levied on each gallon by gov... more »

News that the United States was a net exporter of finished petroleum products last year prompts logical questions – and some wrongheaded commentary – about refining, the proposed Keystone XL pipeline and whether finished products should be leaving the country. Energy blogger Robert Rapier argues net exports are good news for the U.S. economy and quite reasonable in what is, in fact, a global market.

“This news did not sit well with some people, who argued that those exports could have been better used in the U.S. I read numerous comments from people angry that we are exporting fuel. In fact, one of the arguments against the Keystone Pipeline is that the fuel could end up being exported after it is refined. I don’t think the people who are making these arguments have thought this thr... more »

Energy isn't easy. It isn't easy to produce the affordable, abundant, safe, and secure energy our nation needs today; and it certainly isn't easy to put the policies in place to ensure that we can continue that production in the future. However, there is one thing that is easy; telling everyone what they want to hear, while actually doing nothing. And a review of recent developments indicates that some politicians are trying to protect their jobs by adopting conflicting or incoherent positions that threaten the jobs of others:

• The administration imposed a moratorium and a permitorium on offshore drilling, and then the president promoted Brazil's offshore drilling saying the United States wants to be Brazil's best oil customer.

• Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) called offshore drilling a... more »

The American public is understandably worried about the price of gasoline and overwhelmingly rejects raising those prices higher through new energy taxes, instead supporting increasing domestic production of oil. Of course, when the public gets worried, public officials get worried and have correspondingly ramped up the production of...politics.

First came the political messaging that current administration policies have improved our energy outlook, but that, um, turned out not to be true. So then in change of tactics we are presented with the absurd notion that oil companies are not interested in producing oil. Again, no, no, and no.

The fact is from the very beginning, the current administration has taken specific steps to stop or delay the development of America's domestic oil and natu... more »