At least one US oil giant found out recently it has a target on its back and the federal government is doing the aiming.
The Environmental Protection Agency didn’t wait on a US Supreme Court decision that could affect an Oklahoma refinery about biofuel blending mandate exemptions before targeting Sinclair Oil Corporation.
The EPA filed a motion late last week to vacate three waivers given by the Trump administration to exempt the Sinclair Oil Corporation refineries from the biofuel blending mandates reported Reuters. They are the same exemptions that led to CVR Energy’s court fight regarding blending mandates at its Wynnewood refinery.
The EPA now contends the Trump administration did not analyze whether Sinclair refineries would have qualified to receive the exemptions based on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals January 2020 ruling that led to CVR Energy and Hollyfrontier Cheyenne taking an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Hollyfrontier Cheyenne Refining LLC v. Renewable Fuels Association case was heard last week by the Supreme Court and a decision is expected sometime this summer.
CVR Energy and Hollyfrontier maintain their small refineries should be allowed to receive exemptions from being forced to blend biofuels into gasoline production. The Denver Federal Appeals Court ruled they did not maintain those exemptions on a continuous basis year after year and the waivers should only be approved as extensions.
Sinclair has yet to comment on being targeted by the Biden administration.
Source: Reuters