Nine U.S. senators today called on the administration to uphold the law and ensure that qualified small refineries continue to have protection from disproportionate economic hardship brought on by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
Publicly owned companies, like many U.S. refineries, have a fiduciary responsibility (which is a legal obligation) to act in the best interest of their shareholders, and that extends to how companies spend their earnings. Often, earnings are spent on a combination of the following: direct dividends, stock buy back programs, paying down debt and capital investment projects.