One of the highlights of last week’s National Ethanol Conference was the Future of Fuels Policy Panel. One of the panelists was Chet Thompson, American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) President and CEO. AFPM represents the refining and petrochemical sectors of the fuel industry, and Thompson spoke during the panel about ways that the ethanol and oil industries can work together towards the common goal of improving America’s energy industry.
“One of the reasons we came today is not to focus on our differences, and as you know we’ve had our fair share of differences about the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program and the policy behind it, but we came to talk about ways that we could work together going forward with our industries,” said Thompson in an interview following the panel.
Thompson also discussed how the Trump Administration’s stance on energy seems to be a win for both the oil and ethanol industries.
“It’s refreshing to have a pro-energy President who doesn’t view us as the enemy and sees us as an asset,” he said. “We’re optimistic about some of his Executive Orders on regulatory reform and infrastructure to push along the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and the Keystone Pipeline.”
AFPM supports the movement of the Point of Obligation, but Thompson noted that their support of the movement is not an anti-ethanol stance.
“Certainly the Renewable Fuels Association’s (RFA) perspective on the success of the RFS Program is different than ours, but I think we can all agree that it’s in need of some fixes and we’re here to explore what we can agree on in terms of ways to fix the program,” he said. “In the meantime, we believe there are things the agency can do to make the program more equitable in the short term, and that means moving the Point of Obligation.”
Learn more in Chuck’s full interview with Chet here:
Interview with Chet Thompson, AFPM