Gasoline blends stress supplies, environmental benefits vary: GAO
Washington (Platts)--5Jul2005
Special gasoline blends in the US reduce vehicle emissions by varying degrees, but also strain gasoline supply systems, affecting operations at refineries, pipelines and storage terminals, according to a report released Tuesday by the US Government Accountability Office. The proliferation of special blends "reduces efficiency and raises costs," the GAO report said. Producing these blends can require additional investments for refiners, such as installing new processing equipment and the use of larger amounts of valuable components in the blending process, GAO said. Once produced, different blends must be kept separate throughout the shipping and delivery process, and the increased number of blends has reduced the capacity of pipelines and storage terminal facilities, originally designed to handle fewer products, the report said. The proliferation of special blends has also limited the number of suppliers for some of these fuels, posing challenges when traditional supplies are disrupted, such as during a refinery outage or pipeline delay. "In the past, local supply disruptions could be addressed by bringing fuel from nearby locations; now, because the use of these fuels is isolated, additional supplies may be hundreds of miles away," the report said. However, the GAO makes no recommendations in its report about whether the number of special gasoline blends should be limited. Instead, it recommends that the Environmental Protection Agency study how the special blends affect emissions and that it work with states, along with other agencies, about how to balance the environmental benefits of special gasolines with the impact on the supply infrastructure and prices. The environmental benefits of the special blends vary across the US, the report said. California blends reduce emissions the most -- volatile organic compounds by 25%-29% and nitrogen oxides by 6% compared to convention gasoline, while also reducing emissions of toxic chemicals. The most common special gasoline blends, used largely in the Gulf Coast region, reduce VOCs by 12%-16% and NOX by less than 1%. For further information about special gasoline blends, take a trial to Platts Oilgram News at http://oilgramnews.platts.com.
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