OREANDA-NEWS. The administration of President Donald Trump will use an executive order to shift the burden of complying with federal biofuel mandates off of some refiners, a leading biofuels trade group said today.

The administration plans to issue an executive order making owners of fuel at blending terminals - rather than the refiners producing gasoline and diesel for the US market - obligated to ensure rising volumes of biofuels enter the domestic fuel supply, Renewable Fuels Association chief executive Bob Dinneen said in a statement.

"Despite our continued opposition to the move, we were told the executive order was not negotiable," Dinneen said.

A White House representative could not be immediately reached for comment.

Such a move would be a win for US merchant refiners led by Valero, the industry's largest, that have pushed for the program's point of obligation to move closer to blenders. Valero spent roughly $750mn in 2016 to comply with the program, according to the company. It would also benefit CVR Energy, a refiner majority-owned by investor Carl Icahn, who was named an informal regulatory adviser to the president.

Integrated refiners, wholesale fuel sellers and large retailers have criticized the move as rewarding that industry's failure to adapt and removing refiner incentive to produce the blendstocks needed to make finished, high-biofuel blends.

Dinneen said RFA would push for the administration to also change rules preventing the year-round sale of 15pc ethanol gasoline blends. Almost all US finished gasoline contains roughly 10pc gasoline. Current air quality rules prevent the sale of 15pc blends during the peak summer driving months, when tougher fuel specifications are in place.