all a scam to make billions for elitists. follow the money.
http://www.farmindustrynews.com/ethanol/5-largest-ethanol-producershttp://www.governorsbiofuelscoalition.org/big-oil-companies-reap-windfall-from-ethanol-rules/Environmental regulations designed to boost the amount of ethanol blended into the U.S. gasoline supply have inadvertently become a multibillion-dollar windfall for some of the world’s biggest oil companies.
Companies including Chevron Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC, and BP PLC could reap a total of more than $1 billion this year by selling the renewable fuel credits associated with the ethanol program, according to an analysis commissioned by CVR Energy, a refinery operator controlled by billionaire Carl Icahn, a vocal critic of the rules.
For other companies, especially smaller refiners, the rules have had the opposite effect, forcing them to spend hundreds of millions to buy credits to comply.
Some large oil companies acknowledge they are reaping revenue from the regulations, but say their advantage stems from large investments they made to comply with it, and stress that not all of the money translates into profit.
“Because a few other companies made different business decisions and are now living with the consequences is not a reason to suddenly change the rules,” said Geoff Morrell, a senior vice president for BP.
Spokesmen for Chevron and Shell said they couldn’t immediately comment. A spokesman for Citgo, the U.S. arm of state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA, disputed it was profiting from the credits as the analysis claims, saying that it buys more than it sells annually to comply with its obligations.
The ethanol and biodiesel program, created during President George W. Bush’s administration, was aimed in part at reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil. But those concerns have waned as a result of the abundant new U.S. oil and gas supplies unlocked by shale drilling. The rules require refiners to either blend ethanol with the gasoline they produce or buy credits.
Valero Energy Corp. disclosed when it reported third-quarter earnings Tuesday that it incurred $198 million in costs to meet biofuel blending rules during the period. It has said it will have to shell out as much as $850 million this year for the credits. PBF Energy Inc. has estimated costs will reach $300 million.
The top 10 U.S. refiners spent $1.1 billion on biofuel credits in the first half of this year, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Some refiners have warned they could be forced to conduct mass layoffs, or file for bankuptcy, because of the soaring costs of compliance.
“The consumer is paying more and it’s ending up in the pockets of retailers, major oil companies or speculators,” said George Damiris, the chief executive of HollyFrontier Corp., a Midwestern refiner. “Over time, if this goes uncorrected, people will basically be put out of business.”
