The War Between Refiners Over E15 Rises Again This Week In Washington

BusinessEnergyThe War Between Refiners Over E15 Rises Again This Week In WashingtonByDavid Blackmon,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. David Blackmon is a Texas-based public policy analyst/consultant.Follow AuthorMay 10, 2026, 08:05am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Gasoline prices are seen at a Exxon gas station in Houston, Texas, on March 31, 2026. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty ImagesThe battle pitting factions of the U.S. refining industry against one another reopens this week in Washington, DC with a House vote on a bill to mandate the sale of E15 gasoline nationally year-round. When I wrote on April 29 about Amendment 289 to the 2026 Farm Bill designed to execute this expansion, I pointed out that it had renewed a long-running split in the refining industry, with the integrated majors and their refining arms on one side, and the independent refiners who produce roughly half of the fuel Americans put in their tanks on the other.Refiners Take Sides Over E15 MandateThe amendment - sponsored by Minnesota Republican Michelle Fischbach - pitted the American Petroleum Institute (API) and its big-refiner members, who like the market certainty and downstream retail upside they obtain with ethanol, against the Small Refineries of America, who argued it would strip away statutory protections and accelerate the very refinery closures consumers can least afford.Mike Sommers, chief executive officer of the American Petroleum Institute (API), at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, Texas, US, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. The event convenes more than 10,000 participants from over 2,350 companies across 89 countries for dialogue on the agenda ahead as the world enters a new era of energy transition. Photographer: F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg© 2026 Bloomberg Finance LPThe House passed the Fa...