GLOBAL CLIMATE DEBATE

API Predicts Refinery Slowdown Under W-M

A new analysis of the Waxman-Markey bill predicts it would hurt the U.S. refining industry.

The study was commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute and performed by the consulting firm EnSys Energy. It concludes that if the bill that the House passed narrowly in June becomes law, U.S. refinery output could fall 25 percent by 2030, and investment in the refining sector could drop more than 80 percent.
 
The result, says API, is that U.S. dependence on foreign refined products would double as refining production shifts overseas.

The bill seeks to achieve a 17 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, by requiring polluters to obtain permits for their carbon dioxide output. It would hold refiners responsible not only for their own emissions, but also for gases emitted from use of fuels produced like gasoline and heating oil, accounting for more than 40 percent of U.S. emissions. Meanwhile, the refining sector would get just 2 percent of the free emissions credits awarded under the bill.

API President and CEO Jack Gerard says it would have a devastating impact on U.S. jobs and U.S. energy security.