Fuel retailers see isolated sales of high-ethanol blend for up to a decade

Platts
Orlando, Florida (Platts)--24Feb2012/257 pm EST/1957 GMT

As fuel makers start registering their high-ethanol gasoline blends with US regulators, petroleum retailers say there are practical and legal barriers that could keep the fuel out of most markets for as long as a decade.

The ethanol industry used this week's Renewable Fuels Association conference in Orlando, Florida, to applaud a recent US Environmental Protection Agency decision that started the registration process for E15, a gasoline blend containing 15% ethanol. But they acknowledged that getting it to markets across the country will take time.

Dan Gilligan, president of the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, estimated that achieving a 20% market penetration could take five to 10 years, with prairie states like Iowa adopting it much sooner.

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