Brazil to test higher ethanol requirement in gasoline -source

Reuters

BY LEONARDO GOY

BRASILIA, June 18 Wed Jun 18, 2014 7:58pm IST

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Recent Ethanol Blending Margins

farmdocDAILY


University of Illinois
May 23, 2014


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API to sue EPA if it doesn’t set 2014 blending mandate by Nov. 30

Biofuels Digest

Meghan Sapp | October 17, 2013

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ISU study: Investment in E85 could be cheaper than purchasing ethanol credits

Des Moines Register

11:42 AM, Sep 23, 2013 | by Christopher Doering |      

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Paper Challenges EPA Modeling of Ethanol Emissions

domesticfuel.com

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Joanna Schroeder

 

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Brazil to raise ethanol mix in gasoline to 25% from 20% May 1

platts

Rio de Janeiro (Platts)--1Mar2013/1153 am EST/1653 GMT


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EPA approves new blender pump configuration

Biofuels Digest
Meghan Sapp
February 11, 2013   Read more

Brazil Said to Plan Higher Ethanol Blend as Early as May

Bloomberg


By Mario Sergio Lima - Dec 18, 2012 9:03 AM CT
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EPA Defeats Challenge to Higher Ethanol Levels in Fuel

Bloomberg
By Sara Forden - Aug 17, 2012 12:30 PM CT

A challenge to an Environmental Protection Agency rule allowing higher concentrations of corn- based ethanol in gasoline was thrown out by a U.S. Appeals Court ruling that the groups pressing the case had no right to sue.

Grocery, auto and petroleum industry associations filed suit against the agency in November 2010, saying that rules allowing for increased used of corn-based ethanol in auto fuel would push up the price of food and gasoline and harm engines. The court today ruled the groups couldn’t show they had suffered specific harm as a result of the EPA’s decisions.

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Appeals court rejects challenge on ethanol

Google
(AP) – August 17, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has rejected a challenge to Environmental Protection Agency decisions allowing an increase in ethanol content in gasoline.

In a 2-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said trade associations of engine manufacturers, food producers and petroleum producers did not have standing to sue because they failed to show that their members are harmed by the EPA action.

In two decisions, the agency approved the introduction of a gasoline blend of up to 15 percent ethanol for use in light-duty vehicles from model-year 2001 and later. The national gasoline supply is largely a blend with 10 percent ethanol. Ethanol producers, who sought the 15 percent option, say the ruling keeps a pathway open that could enable ethanol demand to expand.

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Petrobras Seeks to Stem Fuel Losses by Adding Ethanol

Bloomberg

By Mario Sergio Lima - Jul 6, 2012 9:42 AM CT
Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4) plans to stem losses from fuel imports using cheaper Brazilian-made biofuels as analysts forecast profit will decline to an eight-year low.

Petrobras, as the company is known, is asking the government to let it mix more sugarcane-based ethanol into its gasoline, two officials with knowledge of the discussions, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public, said June 29. The move would help halt losses estimated at $375 million as refinery shortages force the company to import fuel.

Chief Executive Officer Maria das Gracas Foster obtained permission from the government, which controls Petrobras’s board, for a fuel price increase on June 15 to reduce the discount to international prices. She started meeting last month with analysts and investors in Rio de Janeiro, New York and London to explain how the company will fund $236.5 billion of investments over five years and more than double oil production by 2020.

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Brazil Said to Consider Increased Ethanol Mix in Fuel

Bloomberg
By Mario Sergio Lima and Carla Simoes - Jun 28, 2012 10:01 PM CT
Brazil is considering a request by Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4), the country’s state-owned oil company, to increase the amount of ethanol added to gasoline, said two government officials with knowledge of the discussions.

Authorities are reviewing ethanol supplies in the South American country to determine if there is enough to proceed with the measure, which would help reduce imports and boost Petrobras’s earnings, said the officials, who asked not to be identified as the matter is not public.

Brazil lowered ethanol levels in gasoline in August because low stocks were pushing up fuel prices, which is no longer the case, said Adriano Pires, head of the Brazilian Center for Infrastructure.

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Petrobras Wants to Increase Ethanol in Gasoline, Estado Says

Bloomberg News
By Peter Millard on June 23, 2012 Tweet

Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4), Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, wants to increase the amount of ethanol used in gasoline to 25 percent, the head of the company’s biofuels unit said yesterday, according to O Estado de S. Paulo.

The increase in ethanol content from the current 20 percent will help ease fuel imports, Estado quoted Miguel Rossetto as saying.

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Pure gasoline options shrinking in South Dakota

trib.com
By CODY WINCHESTER Argus Leader trib.com
Posted: Sunday, June 3, 2012 9:15 am

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Sometime this summer, already-scarce blends of pure gasoline will become rarer in western South Dakota.

That’s because the largest refineries that supply the Plains Rocky Mountain Pipeline terminal in Rapid City, and therefore much of western South Dakota, soon will begin piping shipments of subgrade gasoline that will have to be blended with ethanol before it can be sold.

Drivers who prefer not to burn ethanol because they see a drag in fuel mileage will have fewer nonethanol choices. Already, more than 95 percent of the motor vehicle fuel sold in the U.S. contains ethanol, according to estimates from the Renewable Fuels Association.

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ASTM creates first standard for midlevel ethanol blends

Ethanol Producer Magazine
By Kris Bevill
June 01, 2012

A new midlevel ethanol blend standard recently completed by scientific standards development body ASTM International could serve as the missing link necessary for blender pumps to become widely used in all U.S. states.

The standard, titled “Blending Mid-Level Ethanol Fuel Blends for Flexible-Fuel Vehicles with Automotive Spark-Ignition Engines,” provides technical guidance for retailers and blenders who wish to offer fuel blends containing ethanol volumes between 15 and 51 percent. Prior to this standard’s completion, those blends were not covered under any other ASTM guidance. Some states, primarily those located in the Midwest, had formed their own guidelines and regulations to allow blender pumps to dispense midlevel ethanol blends, but states that had not taken those measures were hesitant to allow blender pumps into the market without appropriate ASTM guidance. Kristy Moore, vice president of technical services at the Renewable Fuels Association and member of ASTM’s gasoline and oxygenate committee, said the new standard should ease those states’ concerns. “All of the state regulators who initially had apprehension about blender pumps weighed in on this document and said, ‘This is exactly what we need to help usher blender pumps into our state,’” she said.

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Canadian oil producers blending ethanol at 30% over mandated levels

Biofuels Digest
Meghan Sapp
May 23, 2012

In Canada, the oil industry may be blending as much as 30% more ethanol than required by the country’s E5 blending mandate because ethanol futures are running at less than half the retail price of gasoline. The industry is adding in more ethanol not just because it’s cheaper, but also because it doesn’t require the hassle of refining. Ethanol imports from the US rose 140% last year.

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Illinois Bill Would Boost Ethanol Producers

Convenience Store News
Mar 21, 2012

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Illinois biofuel companies who have faced a market glut since the end of a federal tax credit led energy companies to rush pre-expiration production may have hope in the form of a newly proposed bill that would create new tax credits. House Bill 4700, currently awaiting debate in the House Rules Committee, would encourage Illinois gas stations to install more flex-fuel pumps, according to an Illinois Statehouse News report.

Referred to as the Consumer Fuel Choice Act, the bill "sends a message to consumers," said co-sponsor Rep. Donald Moffitt (R-Galesburg). "If you buy a flex-fuel car, there’ll be fuel available. And it supports our rural industry," stated Moffitt. "Profits from ethanol stay in our country."

If passed, the bill would create a new 10-percent sales tax credit for E20 gasoline, which contains 20 percent ethanol. It would also provide $20 million in annual grants, with ethanol companies receiving $15 million for research and gas stations receiving $5 million to install more flex-fuel pumps. It would also provide some profit to the state by ending a 20-year-old 20-percent tax credit for E10 fuel. This would result in $150 million per year added to Illinois' general fund, said Senate co-sponsor Sen. John Sullivan (D-Rushville).

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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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ENERGY: Ethanol blender pumps growing in numbers

Prairie Business
Published February 03, 2012, 12:00 AM
By: Loretta Sorensen, Prairie Business Magazine

Blender pumps offering consumers a variety of ethanol-blend fuels are growing in numbers across the Dakotas and Minnesota.

We’re very satisfied with the progress of blender pump sales in North Dakota,” Tom Lilja, North Dakota Corn Growers Director, says. “In the past, a few stations may have had a pump dedicated to E85 in the corner. Now, blender pumps are right next to standard gasoline pumps and consumers are using the blended fuels.”

North Dakota just surpassed installation of 200+ pumps at more than 50 locations across the state. The majority of pumps are found in the eastern two-thirds of North Dakota. Blends vary from E10 to E30 to E85.

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USDA helps install 266 blender pumps through REAP

Ethanol Producer Magazine
By Kris Bevill December 15, 2011

The USDA announced the final round of fiscal year 2011 Renewable Energy for America Program awards on Dec. 14. The awards included grants for 12 blender pump projects in eight states, bringing the total number of REAP-funded projects to 65 so far. As a result, 266 new blender pumps will be installed in 30 states, according to the USDA.

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