UL T R A - L OW S U L F U R
Ultra-low sulfur fuel set to debut in New York
New York is ahead of the pack BY S T EP HEN B E N NE T T
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FFECTIVE SUNDAY, JULY 1, SEPARATE REGULATIONS PASSED BY New York City and New York State will require ultra low sulfur fuel oil—that is, heating oil with sulfur
content of no more than 15 parts per million (ppm). That deadline puts New York years ahead of other states intending to switch to lower sulfur heating oil that burns cleaner and results in fewer emissions. How will New York's head start affect the wider market and
the industry? That's something fuel oil dealers, refiners and trade associations in both New York and other northeastern states are waiting to see. Grant Brown, vice president of marketing and investing
for Sprague Energy, Portsmouth, N.H., a supplier of energy products including heating oil, said one of the impending chal-
MARCH 2012 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com
lenges in New York is management of inventory with sulfur content higher than 15 ppm. Sprague Energy has large volumes of higher-sulfur fuel oil in storage in New York; the company plans to move it to other markets, a project that has costs associ- ated with it, Brown noted. Whether supply of the low-sulfur fuel oil in New York City
and in the state will be an issue remains to be seen as well, Brown and others said. New York State will need 15 ppm heating oil from refiners who don't have to supply it to customers anywhere else, Brown pointed out. That could mean heating oil custom- ers competing with diesel fuel customers for the same product. "There is a potential for prices to increase," Brown said. New York City adopted its requirement and its deadline first, and New York State followed, urged on by, among others, the Empire
