Major blow to oil refiners, Trump’s administration rejects requests for biofuel waiver

In a major move against the oil industry US President Donald Trump administration has rejected a majority of retroactive biofuel waiver petitions from oil refiners that were pending review.

“This decision follows President Trump’s promise to promote domestic biofuel production, support our nation’s farmers, and in turn strengthen our energy independence,” said Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler in a statement , as the agency announced that it was denying 54 applications that the Department of Energy had reviewed.

The decision to deny waivers comes because they had become a controversial issue between oil refiners and farmers in the US Farm Belt, an important political constituency for Trump as election nears.

As per the oil refiners the waivers are important for the oil industry who are otherwise tasked with blending ethanol into their gasoline every year or have to purchase tradable credits from refiners that blend with ethanol.

The development comes just days after US President signed an order to extend a ban on offshore oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico off Florida until 2032 as he seeks to win support in the state ahead of the Nov. 3 election. The executive order would also expand the ban to Florida’s Atlantic coast and to the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina.

Meanwhile, regarding the latest decision oil refiners are if the view that the requirements are cost-prohibitive, quoted OilPrice.org, and if they can prove economic hardship, they can be given a waiver.

Whereas, on the other hand the corn industry says that the federal government doesn’t take seriously enough the local biofuel industry.