Fourteen US Senate Republicans urged President Donald Trump to support implementation of the International Maritime Organization’s 2020 standards for lower-sulfur marine fuel. “Timely implementation of the standards will bring a tremendous advantage to our country and serve as another success story in your mission to achieve American energy dominance,” they said in an Apr. 29 letter to the president.
Their action was significant because several of these members normally don’t embrace international environmental standards. The current global marine fuel rule allows a maximum of 3.5% sulfur by weight. The IMO’s 2020 standard will reduce the allowable sulfur limit to 0.5%, which is more in line with existing US fuel requirements, the group indicated.
“The US refining system is complex but has the flexibility to meet consumer needs,” the senators said. “With more than a decade to prepare, our nation’s refiners have heavily invested in infrastructure upgrades to meet the expected global demand for these low-sulfur fuels. Any attempt by the United States to reverse course on IMO 2020 could create market uncertainty, cause harm to the US energy industry, and potentially backfire on consumers.”
There has been some concern that the Trump administration will try to ease the rollout of the new international rules requiring commercial ships to use environmentally cleaner fuels. One fear is that changing the IMO rule could drive up demand and prices for diesel and other lower-sulfur fuels on which many US consumers and businesses rely.
“Timely implementation of the IMO 2020 standards will bring tremendous advantage to our country and serve as another success story in your mission to achieve American energy dominance. These standards will benefit workers, consumers, manufacturers, and the country as a whole,” the Senate Republicans told Trump.
Senators who signed
Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.), who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s Energy Subcommittee, led the letter which Sens. James N. Inhofe (Okla.), Roger F. Wicker (Miss.), Rob Portman (Ohio), John N. Kennedy (La.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), John Hoeven (ND), Michael Rounds (SD), Kevin Cramer (ND), Tom Cotton (Ark.), John Boozman (Ark.), James Lankford (Okla.), Rick Scott (Fla.), and Todd Young (Ind.) signed.
Earlier this year, the Coalition for American Energy Security launched an effort to educate policymakers on why IMO 2020 is good for US energy security and competitiveness. “After 12 years and $100 billion of planning and investments, the US energy sector and American workers are prepared to meet demand for this low-sulfur fuel,” said a spokesman for the group which includes the American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers. “It’s encouraging to see senators from multiple states and committees united in support of these next-generation fuels.”
Nick Snow
NICK SNOW covered oil and gas in Washington for more than 30 years. He worked in several capacities for The Oil Daily and was founding editor of Petroleum Finance Week before joining OGJ as its Washington correspondent in September 2005 and becoming its full-time Washington editor in October 2007. He retired from OGJ in January 2020.
