Key Issues > Petroleum and Alternative Fuels
Petroleum and Alternative Fuels
The nation's petroleum refining industry processes millions of barrels of crude oil per day into products such as gasoline and diesel fuel used to power vehicles and aircraft and provides feedstock for the petrochemical industry. The industry has changed in recent decades to produce cleaner burning fuels and blend increasing amounts of biofuels into gasoline.
Key policy considerations that may affect the petroleum refining industry and the evolution of alternative fuels include:
- Petroleum refining. The U.S. petroleum refining industry is the largest in the world. However, due to variations in the cost of crude oil and changes in consumer demand, the industry faces profit volatility and economic challenges. In some parts of the country, the use of specialty gasoline blends is required to reduce vehicle pollution, which can create difficulties for refiners. The future of the petroleum refining industry will depend on various factors, including the refining industrys capacity to adjust to changing demands as well as mandates such as the Renewable Fuel Standard which requires blending with renewable fuels.
- Strategic petroleum reserve. The United States maintains the largest strategic petroleum reserve in the world. Managed by the Department of Energy, the strategic petroleum reserve enables the government to inject crude oil into the market to protect the U.S. economy from damage caused by severe price increases or supply disruptions. Policy considerations on the future inventory of the strategic petroleum reserve include the implications of a dramatic increase in domestic production of crude oil and potential leveling off of domestic demand, as well as changes in the global supply and demand balance of crude oil.
- Gasoline prices. A number of key factors cause the retail price of gasoline to vary over time including fluctuations in the price of crude oil; changes in gasoline supply and demand; the cost of compliance with federal and state requirements calling for special gasoline blends to improve air quality; taxes levied on gasoline; and changes within the petroleum industry, such as mergers. The cumulative effect of regulation, taxes, and an evolving industry are among the policy considerations that can affect the price of gasoline for the U.S. consumer.
- Alternative fuels. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 requires that, by 2022, U.S. transportation fuels contain 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels1. Under the mandate, 15 billion gallons of renewable fuel may come from corn ethanol but the remainder must come from advanced biofuels, such as ethanol made from cellulosic sources like switchgrass, and forest and agricultural residues such as sawdust and sugarcane. The nation faces several key challenges in meeting these requirements. There is not enough cellulosic biofuel commercially available to meet the mandate, and U.S. ethanol use is approaching the blend wall—the 10 percent ethanol blend that most U.S. vehicles can use under existing vehicle and engine warranties. Additional ethanol use will require substantial new investment, including additional warranted and certified storage tanks and variable pumps at gasoline stations.
1Renewable fuels levels may be waived if meeting the required level would severely harm the economy or environment of a state, a region, or the United States, or there is an inadequate domestic supply.
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Changing Crude Oil Markets: Allowing Exports Could Reduce Consumer Fuel Prices, and the Size of the Strategic Reserves Should Be Reexamined
GAO-14-807: Published: Sep 30, 2014. Publicly Released: Oct 20, 2014.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-807
GAO-14-807: Published: Sep 30, 2014. Publicly Released: Oct 20, 2014.
Petroleum Refining: Industry's Outlook Depends on Market Changes and Key Environmental Regulations
GAO-14-249: Published: Mar 14, 2014. Publicly Released: Apr 14, 2014.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-249
GAO-14-249: Published: Mar 14, 2014. Publicly Released: Apr 14, 2014.
Biofuels: Challenges to the Transportation, Sale, and Use of Intermediate Ethanol Blends
GAO-11-513: Published: Jun 3, 2011. Publicly Released: Jul 8, 2011.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-513
GAO-11-513: Published: Jun 3, 2011. Publicly Released: Jul 8, 2011.
Energy Markets: Estimates of the Effects of Mergers and Market Concentration on Wholesale Gasoline Prices
GAO-09-659: Published: Jun 12, 2009. Publicly Released: Jun 26, 2009.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-659
GAO-09-659: Published: Jun 12, 2009. Publicly Released: Jun 26, 2009.
Motor Fuels: Understanding the Factors That Influence the Retail Price of Gasoline
GAO-05-525SP: Published: May 2, 2005. Publicly Released: May 2, 2005.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-05-525SP
GAO-05-525SP: Published: May 2, 2005. Publicly Released: May 2, 2005.
More Reports
Renewable Fuel Standard: Program Unlikely to Meet Production or Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets
GAO-17-264T: Published: Dec 1, 2016. Publicly Released: Dec 1, 2016.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-264T
GAO-17-264T: Published: Dec 1, 2016. Publicly Released: Dec 1, 2016.
Renewable Fuel Standard: Program Unlikely to Meet Its Targets for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
GAO-17-94: Published: Nov 28, 2016. Publicly Released: Nov 28, 2016.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-94
GAO-17-94: Published: Nov 28, 2016. Publicly Released: Nov 28, 2016.
Renewable Fuel Standard: Low Expected Production Volumes Make It Unlikely That Advanced Biofuels Can Meet Increasing Targets
GAO-17-108: Published: Nov 28, 2016. Publicly Released: Nov 28, 2016.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-108
GAO-17-108: Published: Nov 28, 2016. Publicly Released: Nov 28, 2016.
Defense Energy: Observations on DOD's Investments in Alternative Fuels
GAO-15-674: Published: Jul 27, 2015. Publicly Released: Jul 27, 2015.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-674
GAO-15-674: Published: Jul 27, 2015. Publicly Released: Jul 27, 2015.
Firms Reported to Have Sold Iran Refined Petroleum Products or Engaged in Commercial Activities in Iran's Energy Sector
GAO-13-173R: Published: Dec 7, 2012. Publicly Released: Dec 7, 2012.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-173R
GAO-13-173R: Published: Dec 7, 2012. Publicly Released: Dec 7, 2012.
Energy-Water Nexus: Coordinated Federal Approach Needed to Better Manage Energy and Water Tradeoffs
GAO-12-880: Published: Sep 13, 2012. Publicly Released: Oct 15, 2012.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-880
GAO-12-880: Published: Sep 13, 2012. Publicly Released: Oct 15, 2012.
Firms Reported in Open Sources to Have Sold Iran Refined Petroleum Products Declined Since June 30, 2010
GAO-12-321R: Published: Jan 24, 2012. Publicly Released: Feb 1, 2012.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-321R
GAO-12-321R: Published: Jan 24, 2012. Publicly Released: Feb 1, 2012.
Firms Reported in Open Sources to Have Sold Iran Refined Petroleum Products between January 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010
GAO-10-967R: Published: Sep 3, 2010. Publicly Released: Sep 3, 2010.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-967R
GAO-10-967R: Published: Sep 3, 2010. Publicly Released: Sep 3, 2010.
Energy-Water Nexus: Many Uncertainties Remain about National and Regional Effects of Increased Biofuel Production on Water Resources
GAO-10-116: Published: Nov 30, 2009. Publicly Released: Nov 30, 2009.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-116
GAO-10-116: Published: Nov 30, 2009. Publicly Released: Nov 30, 2009.
Biofuels: Potential Effects and Challenges of Required Increases in Production and Use
GAO-09-446: Published: Aug 25, 2009. Publicly Released: Oct 2, 2009.
More...http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-446
GAO-09-446: Published: Aug 25, 2009. Publicly Released: Oct 2, 2009.
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