Changing U.S. Sulfur Specifications May Change Import Sources
N/A
50
130
South Korea
N/A
50
350
Argentina
80
400
1000
Brazil
10
50 (10)
150
E.U.
30
30
120
U.S.
2010
2005/2006
2004
Country
Source: Hart International Fuel Quality Center
Gasoline Sulfur Specifications (ppm)
SOne of the supply issues facing the US in the next several years is how changing gasoline specifications in the United States will affect the availability of imports from other regions.  As we showed in the previous slide, the ban on MTBE, which requires very low RVP gasoline components to blend with ethanol in order to produce RFG, reduces the number of import suppliers that can provide acceptable RFG components.

SU.S. sulfur constraints are also expected to reduce the number of suppliers, but more for timing reasons than because the United States is taking a unique specification path.  The United States is moving towards low sulfur product before many other regions do so.
- Europe is relatively close to U.S. standards, and its exports to the United States may not be limited by sulfur.  In fact, with its tax incentive programs, gasoline being sold in some European countries today has lower sulfur content than U.S. requirements.

- South America generally is producing gasoline with higher sulfur levels than in the United States, and that is not expected to change soon.

- Asia is moving to lower sulfur levels in some countries, but still has higher sulfur specifications in many regions.

SRegional specification changes, along with knowledge of the origin of our imports can give us a clue as to how the U.S. specifications may impact import availability.