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Turnarounds—and the time they require—are critical for safe refinery operations and for the longer-term reliability of U.S. fuel production. But with a smaller number of U.S. facilities shouldering market demands, offline facilities can impact market dynamics. Where turnarounds are concerned, though, refineries take every measure possible to limit any potential disruptions to consumers and fuel supplies.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2023—American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) Senior Director of Fuels & Vehicle Policy Patrick Kelly today testified before the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration against its proposal on two vehicle groups that serves as a de facto ban on internal combustion engine vehicles.

Pyrolysis oil allows petrochemical manufacturers and recyclers to reduce the need for virgin petroleum-based feedstocks. Our industries cannot reap the benefits of advanced recycling without being able to take advantage of the substance’s broad uses, especially as a feedstock to make building blocks for new plastics.

Today, Rob Benedict, AFPM Vice President of Petrochemicals and Midstream, issued the following statement in response to a unanimous proposal from the U.S. Surface Transportation Board that would allow for reciprocal switching within the U.S. freight rail system in order to address inadequate service.

AFPM welcomes the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) efforts in developing a Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, but consistent with comments submitted to the Agency, we urge a revision of their strategy. To prevent plastic pollution, we encourage EPA to embrace policies that enable, not hinder, a circular economy for plastics where we use a range of technologies and strategies to recover post-consumer plastic and transform it back into usable materials.

AFPM sat down with Dr. Ron Abbott, Ph.D., the Sustainability Technology Manager at Chevron Phillips Chemical. A 31-year veteran of the company and holder of 26 patents, Dr. Abbott is responsible for technical programs that advance long-term global sustainability objectives, like advanced recycling. Dr. Abbott was recently featured in AFPM’s recent “Recycling Reimagined” video.

People and outlets across the ideological spectrum—even those favoring EPA’s proposal—see the end game clearly: it’s a de facto ban on internal combustion engine vehicles and, by extension, the American-made liquid fuels they run on.

More than 90% of American households own a car, so EPA’s proposal to ban the vast majority (about 70%) of new gasoline and diesel vehicles in less than 10 years is going to affect almost every one of us. It will set the terms for what cars and trucks we can even consider purchasing in the years ahead, and it will certainly affect those vehicle price tags; It will have massive repercussions across the U.S. economy and supply chains; It could upend and challenge U.S. energy security and potentially the reliability of our electricity.