Lyondell urges EPA action on gasoline supply

New York (Platts)--24Mar2006

Lyondell Chemical Co said Friday that the US is likely to see sharp
increases in gasoline prices, gasoline supply disruptions and a deterioration
in air quality as a result of the rulemaking to remove the reformulated
gasoline oxygen content requirement.

Lyondell submitted comments and recommendations to the EPA as part of the
public participation process to the rulemaking removing the oxygen content
requirement as included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The accelerated
removal of MTBE, brought on by the elimination of the oxygen content
requirement, will negatively impact gasoline prices and supply, distribution
patterns and air quality, Lyondell said.

The negative impacts could be averted if the EPA would issue a transition
rule that encourages refiners to continue to blend the oxygenate MTBE through
the spring and summer, as refiners have for the past 13 years. Additionally,
Lyondell urged the EPA to engage in a full notice-and-comment review of the
impacts on gasoline price and air quality of removing the oxygen content
requirement.

"We recognize that Congress intended to remove the oxygen requirement in
Energy Policy Act of 2005 and we are not attempting to reverse that," said
Norman Phillips, Senior Vice President, Fuels and Raw Materials for Lyondell.
"We are asking the EPA to facilitate the process of removing the oxygen
standard in accordance with existing regulations, in a manner that minimizes
the negative impacts on air quality and gasoline supply for consumers."

--Benjamin Morse, benjamin_morse@platts.com

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http://petrochemicalreport.platts.com.


 

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