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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/101359
datELinE InDuSTryTESTIFIESBEFOrE cOngrESSOnTraDIngrEFOrM On Dec. 12, Eric DeGesero, executive director of the Fuel Merchants Association of New Jersey (FMANJ), testified at a Financial Services Subcommittee hearing on the implementation of new trading reforms under the 2010 Wall Street Reform law. Mr. DeGesero spoke on behalf of his members as well as the Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA) and the New England Fuel Institute (NEFI). A majority of witnesses on the panel were critical of new rules, but DeGesero defended them. ���Bona fide end-users of commodities, [including] our members, feel that the futures and swaps markets are not serving the best interests for what they were created���managing risk and discovering price,��� he said. In order to get things back to normal, DeGesero called for full implementation of long-delayed and embattled trading reforms, including limits on excessive speculation on energy trades, enhanced prohibitions and prosecution of fraud and manipulation, and greater consumer protections for hedgers. DeGesero criticized the Sept. 28 court decision to vacate and remand the new speculative position limits rule that was to have gone into effect in October. ���The court ruled against the will of the electorate on very narrow ground,��� he said, and praised a decision by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to appeal the ruling. In testimony during that same hearing, CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler said ���position limits work��� given that they have been used to great effect in the agriculture markets for nearly 80 years. Just last week a former MF Global trader pleaded guilty to illegal trades in wheat futures. He was only caught because of position limits on wheat (read more). Again, such limits do not exist for most energy trades. NEFI President & CEO Michael Trunzo and Vice President for Government Affairs Jim Collura attended the hearing in support of Mr. DeGesero. NEFI and PMAA remain committed to defending the new FEaturEd nEWs Industry testifies on trading reform Marathon Oil executive change ���Clean Diesel. Clearly Better.��� campaign AHR EXPO 2013 preview Dennis K Burke and Hurricane Sandy AREE 2013 partnership with Bioheat�� Taco and industry allies assist hurricane victims trading rules, including and especially limits on energy speculation, and to providing the CFTC with the desperately needed funds to get the job done. MaraThOnOILannOuncES ExEcuTIvEchangE Marathon Oil Corporation (Houston) announced that David E. Roberts, Jr., executive vice president and chief operating officer, has resigned in order to pursue other interests. Roberts��� resignation is effective Dec. 14, 2012. Since joining Marathon in 2006, Roberts has been an important contributor to the company���s upstream success. The company���s board of directors and management team thank him for the contributions he has made to Marathon and offer their best wishes to him in his future endeavors. ���cLEanDIESEL.cLEarLy BETTEr.���caMPaIgnFOrcLEan DIESELcarS The first ever joint promotion campaign by German automakers to promote clean diesel vehicles in the U.S. was welcomed recently with the hope that it can accelerate current market successes for domestic clean diesel vehicle sales, according to Allen Schaeffer, the executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum. The new promotional diesel campaign was announced in Berlin by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) and member companies���Audi, BMW, Bosch, Daimler, Porsche and Volkswagen. ���We welcome this new effort to raise awareness of American car buyers to all of the benefits of the new generation of clean diesel technology,��� Schaeffer said. ���People who know about the new clean diesel technology are extremely impressed by the improved fuel efficiency, power and lower emissions over gasoline and hybrid autos.��� The slogan ���Clean Diesel. Clearly Better.��� was unveiled along with the promotional effort���s new website, www. clearlybetterdiesel.org, which includes information highlighting the advantages of modern clean diesel passenger cars over gasoline engines ���in terms of cleanliness, consumption and performance,��� according to VDA. ���The success of diesel technology is well documented in Western Europe where 55 percent of all new auto sales are clean diesels. Even though diesels represent a more modest three percent of all new vehicle sales in the U.S., we���re in the midst of a resurgence of diesel in America and can easily see this percentage doubling and tripling in the next five to 10 years,��� said Schaeffer. Today���s clean diesels are fast, efficient, and clean���a far cry from previous diesels in the 1970s and 1980s. Consumers are taking to new clean diesels for their long-term green value as evidenced by diesel sales increases of 24.5 percent through November 2012 compared to 2011, according to Hybrid Cars.com and Baum and Associates. Diesel sales have increased in 27 of the past 28 months in year-over-year sales, with 24 of these months showing double-digit increases. In addition, sales increased by 20 percent or better in 20 of the past 28 months. ���The growing role that clean diesel technology will play here in the U.S. meeting federal fuel economy goals is evident by the anticipated major increase in the number of diesel offerings that will be available in the U.S. in the next 12 to 18 months,��� Schaeffer said. www.fueloilnews.com | FuELOILnEWS| January2013 3