Quick heads up: Ericka will be reaching out tomorrow with information about the EPA’s newest biofuel mandate, along with an opportunity to send the EPA a comment about it, so stay tuned!

Happy Monday!

-Charlie and the AFPM EMPOWER team

As always — if you have ideas for EMPOWER content, respond to this email or reach me directly at charlie@afpm.org.

What we’re reading this week

Diesel Markets Brace for Shock as EU Sanctions Redraw Trade Routes - OilPrice.com
The global diesel market is entering a new phase of structural tightening, with fresh EU sanctions targeting refined fuels from Russian crude force a realignment of trade flows across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Under measures confirmed on Monday by EU officials, imports of diesel and gasoil processed in third countries such as India and Turkey will be barred starting in 2026 in a move designed to close circumvention loopholes that have preserved Russian fuel access to European markets.

Mountain Valley Pipeline Considers Expansion Amid Rising Energy Demands - PTJ
Developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) are exploring a significant expansion that would boost the pipeline's natural gas capacity by approximately 25%, a move dubbed "MVP Boost."

Safety starts with people in the refining and petrochemical workforce - BIC Magazine
When representing the petroleum refining and petrochemical industries in our nation’s capital, we get asked all the time, "How safe are these industries?" We can respond with charts and numbers showing our TRIRs being significantly lower than other industries and point to our process safety event data trending down. And while such data are impressive, they are lagging metrics and they don’t capture the "why" behind our industries’ commitments to safety, and the "why" is our people.

Russia set to impose harsher gasoline export restrictions soon, sources say - Reuters
Currently, restrictions only exist for a small portion of gasoline exports by resellers, while oil companies are still allowed to sell the fuel abroad.

Upcoming event