Colonial Pipeline, the largest U.S. refined product pipeline operator, said on Wednesday it will maintain the currently published product shipping calendar after reviewing a recent U.S. waiver to end the summer blending requirement two weeks early in a bid to boost gasoline supply.
"Based on the timing of responses to the waiver by states, Colonial has decided to maintain the currently published Reid Vapor Pressure calendar, which has fall transition of the largest gasoline grades beginning in the upcoming Cycle 50," a Colonial Pipeline spokesman said in an email.
Colonial schedules product deliveries across 72 shipping cycles per year, operating roughly six cycles per month with each cycle lasting about five days.
The company said it will continue to monitor developments and evaluate any future actions as needed.
Starting Sept. 1, the Environmental Protection Agency will allow the sale of E10 at a higher RVP, which the agency says is expected to increase domestic gasoline supply by "hundreds of thousands of barrels per day."
For gasoline, RVP is used as an ozone control mechanism. A lower RVP number indicates a lower volatility or tendency of the fuel to evaporate.
In addition, the EPA waiver extends the ethanol blending limit in gasoline from 10% to 15%, reinstates the 1 psi allowance for ethanol blends in states where it was previously removed and waives federal low volatility gasoline standards.
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