The availability of cheap ethanol has become a contentious issue in the United States. While American drivers may see the benefits of supplies from the most efficient ethanol producer on earth, meaning that the fuel in their car may be cheaper, for producers and farmers, lower prices are not always better.
Posts tagged ‘automobiles’
 
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May 16, 2017 05:01 UTC 
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“Daddy, when I grow up, should I become a petroleum engineer?” As noted frequently in Platts monthly newsletter Energy Economist, the decarbonization of transport seems for many limited to the light passenger vehicle market. The general assumption is that battery density is insufficient for heavy-duty vehicles. The all-electric aeroplane, for example, has as much chance of getting off the ground as an ostrich. |
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April 20, 2017 05:01 UTC
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The Barrel blog turned 10 years old on April 2, and to celebrate, we’re sharing special posts throughout the month. As a part of the celebrations, Ross McCracken examines why the fossil fuel age won’t end for a lack of coal, gas or oil. The pace of technological change within the energy sector has been rapid over the last decade and shows no sign of abating. |
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January 4, 2017 17:57 UTC
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It’s essential for a daily fixture of life in the United States — a morning commute for many working Americans — and for transportation of basic goods in the US. The US is dependent on gasoline for nearly every aspect of transportation, but the hard reality for the country’s drivers is that its refiners don’t produce near enough to meet demand. Government data shows we now consume about 9.3 million b/d of gasoline nationwide. To offset the shortfall, the US imports about 710,000 b/d of gasoline — more than two cargo ships per day. |
 
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December 22, 2016 05:01 UTC
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Tight domestic supply, strong automotive demand and high raw material costs have already helped European strip steel prices balloon in Q4. But some market participants suspect the initiation of an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese hot-dipped galvanized sheet could see that market “explode.” Strip steel prices generally are expected to remain firm for much of the first half of the year, with European mills switching their defense of higher offer prices from the burden of raw material costs, to the tightness in supply. |
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October 27, 2016 00:15 UTC
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Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundesrat, voted in October to ban the sale of cars with internal combustion engines by 2030. It is a resolution with no binding implications, but it did garner cross-party support. It is certainly a powerful statement of intent. Seen from the capitals of the major oil exporting countries, it should be viewed with alarm, not that it will necessarily be achieved, but as a reminder that in combination with the technologies to deliver them, environmental targets only ever seem to get more ambitious in scope and in timing. |
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October 19, 2016 05:01 UTC
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It may not change human behavior, but if it did, a recent AAA report on the benefits of premium gasoline might cut into what on paper looks like a pretty profitable business. |
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February 25, 2016 08:00 UTC
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You can’t take a practice swing with a 6-iron here at the BPAMA gasoline marketers’ convention in Doral, Florida, without nearly hitting someone who is optimistic about gasoline. Not crude, mind you. There is plenty of sour feeling about that. But about 450 regional fuel executives have gathered this week at the Trump National golf resort at Doral, with Platts as one of the sponsors of the event. (The attendees will miss the really big show, which happens in a few days when resort namesake Donald Trump is expected as part of his campaign tour.) |
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February 22, 2016 00:01 UTC
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With the US likely to raise the gasoline octane standard in the next decade or so to achieve greenhouse-gas emissions regulations and fuel efficiency targets, the domestic ethanol industry is promoting its product as the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to meet those higher requirements. |
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January 15, 2016 00:01 UTC
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The North American International Auto Show in Detroit is as big of an event for car enthusiasts as an Apple product launch is for techies. A car and tech enthusiast I am not. But growing up in the Steel City and working on the Platts metals team has made me a bit of a metals enthusiast, and the Detroit auto show is a major event for metal enthusiasts, too. |