The problem with Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel is distribution. It really disrupts how fuel is moved economically today, since the max sulfur level for the new emission technologies is 15ppm. It leaves the refinery at 7ppm. Jet fuel and heating oil have sulfur in the thousands of ppm range. Off-road diesel above 500 ppm, gasoline at 30 ppm, etc. All use the same pipelines (in batches with a level or "transmix" that is reprocessed), same terminals, same tank compartments (with currently manageable contamination issues) etc. Cross contamination nightmare, or expensive dedicated resources, or the expensive downgrading of product from on-road to off-road. There are liability issues associated with damaging the emissions equipment if it gets above 15 ppm. There are uncertain demand issues (when will the market develop in relation to the supply?). A lot of complication with little wiggle room and no firm process set with 1 year to go, and nobody HAS to carry any specific grade of fuel at retail if it doesn’t make sense for that specific operation.
There hasn't been a refinery come online since 1971 or so, all the refineries operate at peak this time of year, and it will get worse, as some will have to devote resources to making heating oil quite soon---we dont have enough refining capacity, and its all but impossible to BUILD a refinery in this country--tree-huggers in and out of gov't squash that...we have oil in ground that can increase supply, thus lower price, buit those same people dont want THAT to happen either (ANWAR, and last week, a feweral judge in CA squashed an attempt to expend drilling off coast there.)---We get what we deserve--Left's only response is to quit driving SUV's--IT's my understanding that MOST of the oil consumed in US is to create electricity? If someone could find stats
A few questions and a point:
1. How much refining capacity was in place when industry regulation was dropped in 1980. How many refineries? What about 10 years later? Why?
2. What did the tree huggers at the US Geological Survey have to say about “all that oil” in ANWAR? What percentage does that represent of US demand when available? Will it displace foreign oil, or existing domestic wells that operate with more expense? Without price controls what will the impact be to American motorists?
3. In the United States, oil is used mostly for transportation or home heating purposes, although a small percentage is used as a fuel for electricity generating plants (source USEPA). Coal and natural gas are the primary fuels used with power plants.
Charon
