Some Refiners Delay Production as June ULSD Deadline Arrives

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he Environmental Protection Agency’s deadline for U.S. fuel refiners to begin making ultra-low-sulfur diesel was June 1, but not all refiners said they would make the fuel immediately.

Meanwhile, petroleum marketers asked EPA to loosen its standards for retailers amid concern that the fuel will be contaminated by excess sulfur in pipelines and fuel terminals.

The regulation for refiners is part of EPA’s ULSD rule, which re-quires that 80% of highway diesel fuel produced after June 1 and sold after Oct. 15 contain no more than 15 parts per million of sulfur — a nearly 97% reduction from the previous 500-ppm sulfur limit.

ULSD is needed for lower-emission 2007-model trucks to run properly. Burning higher-sulfur fuel would clog diesel particulate filters the new trucks use to meet EPA’s drastically lower standard for soot in truck exhaust.

For the full story, see the June 5 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.