The vice president of the American Petroleum Institute provided the keynote address at the 14th Annual National Ethanol Conference in San Antonio on Tuesday.
Introducing Jim Ford with API, Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen stressed the importance of working with the petroleum industry. “They’re our customers, they’re the ones bringing our product to the consumer, so we have to work constructively with them,” said Dinneen.
Ford filled in at the last minute for API president and CEO Jack Gerard, who is preparing for a Congressional hearing in Washington tomorrow. “The U.S. oil and natural gas industry understands and appreciates ethanol’s role in the national gasoline marketplace,” said Ford. “Our industry is the largest consumer of ethanol and a key player in increasing it’s use.” Ford also noted that many petroleum companies are directly engaged in the ethanol business, including BP and Shell.
Ford said the current economic crisis underscores the need for both industries to work together. “If we get it right, we can get our country on the road to economic recovery and ensure that we have the energy supplies that we will need in the decades ahead,” he concluded.