Status and Impact of State MTBE Bans
Notes
[1] An oxygenate is typically referred to as a hydrocarbon compound with some oxygen content that, when blended with gasoline, will facilitate burning of gasoline and reduce carbon monoxide emissions.
[2] Requested by Sen. Jeff Bingaman and published in September 2002, http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/FTPROOT/service/question1.pdf /p>
[3] World Fuels Today, January 22, 2003
[4] World Fuels Today, January 8, 2003
[5] San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Joaquin Valley
[6] World Fuels Today, January 7, 2003
[7] NOx and VOC react with air to form ozone in the lower atmosphere, especially under sunlight and at high summer temperatures.
[8] Petroleum Supply Annual 2001, Vol. 1, June 2002, http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/petroleum_supply_annual/psa_volume1/current/pdf/volume1_all.pdf
[9] RBOB stands for Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending, a motor gasoline blending component which, when blended with a specified type and percentage of oxygenate, meets the definition of RFG. Under an MTBE ban, RBOB would need to be “reformulated” to resemble those used in the Midwest in order to blend ethanol, primarily to offset the vapor “penalty” incurred by blending ethanol.
[10] RFG is cleaner than conventional gasoline in terms of air toxic emissions. Thus, a refinery producing mostly RFG would have a cleaner (and stricter) baseline than a refinery producing mostly conventional gasoline.
[11] Winter oxygenated gasoline programs began at retail in November 1992, followed by the Federal RFG program in January 1995.
[12] Even if the oxygen requirement for RFG is waived, ethanol is still likely to be used in lieu of MTBE to make up the volume loss and to serve as an octane booster.
[13] Requested by Sen. Jeff Bingaman and published in September 2002, http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/FTPROOT/service/question2.pdf
[14] Annual Energy Outlook 2003, January 2003. This projection includes ethanol blended into both conventional gasoline and RFG.
[15] Requested by Sen. Jeff Bingaman and published in September 2002, http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/FTPROOT/service/question3.pdf
[16] Near record drought condition this winter in the upper Midwest has affected the Mississippi River barge traffic, which provides a vital transportation link to ship ethanol from the Midwest to California.
[17] The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, otherwise known as the Jones Act, requires that products shipped between U.S. ports must be transported in ships that were built in the United States, U.S. flagged, and manned by U.S. personnel. The Oil Pollution Action of 1990 (OPA90) requires the use of double-hulled vessels and further requires the retirement of single-hulled vessels from petroleum product service by certain dates based on their manufacture or rebuild date.
[18] In 2002, EIA performed three major studies relating to the supply and price impacts on gasoline from a possible RFS and/or MTBE ban: A) Impact of Renewable Fuels Standard/MTBE Provisions of S. 1766 – Requested by the Senate Energy Committee, March 2002 (http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/mtbe/pdf/sroiaf(2002)06.pdf and errata http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/mtbe/pdf/errata_rfs.pdf); B) Impact of Renewable Fuels Standard/MTBE Provisions of S. 517 – Requested by Senators Daschle and Murkowski, April 2002 (http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/mtbe/pdf/addendum06.pdf); and C) Renewable Motor Fuel Production Capacity Under H.R.4, September 2002 (http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/FTPROOT/service/question2.pdf)). These studies were performed as the Senate Energy Bill evolved in 2002, with various assumptions and data updates. Renewable Motor Fuel Production Capacity Under H.R.4 is the latest study and contains the most update-to-date information.
[19] PADDs are Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts, which have been used in EIA’s analyses within the same framework as the petroleum industry uses.