“Common ethanol specifications and quality standards could simplify trade across different regions,” says Vice President of Fuels at Lyondell Mr. Joe Lee, “but his thought on it is more of a cautionary note. “If people start talking about specifications together, they should be doing it for the right reasons, and that is to facilitate trading, not to create potential barriers to markets.”
In an interview with Ethanol Statistics, Mr. Lee commented on plans to develop a common standard for ethanol. “While there may be desires to protect fledgling biofuels industries within a country,” Mr. Lee says, “quality standards should avoid being barriers to markets. Such restrictions may in the long run thwart a country in achieving its ultimate targets. I think such standard can be negotiated commercially. Government should at most agree on some sort of minimum standard for quality and car performance.”
Mr. Lee does see an advantage in such a common standard, saying “For countries like the US and Japan, who import substantial portions of their energy needs from overseas, whatever rules they enact will affect not only local refiners, blenders or biofuel suppliers, but also those who provide them materials from overseas. Thus their view must encompass the international dimensions of the biofuel markets they are fostering.”
In the interview, Mr. Lee also discusses the key areas for investment to avoid bottlenecks in the industry’s growth, in addition to the value of aligning CO2 credit standards.
The entire interview, titled ‘Harmonized Trade Rules for Ethanol and ETBE’ can be found
here.