Prices in the California ethanol market rose Thursday in a delayed response to Tuesday's fire at NuStar's Selby Terminal in Crockett, California.
S&P Global Platts assessed the Northern California market at $1.5175/gal, up 5.75 cents on the day. Platts considers California ethanol with a carbon intensity equal to the annual gasoline standard -- 93.23 for 2019 -- and converts trades heard in the market with lower carbon intensities.
"We're still trying to figure out [how long this] Selby fire will put that terminal out of action," said one source. "If, as I've heard, out till the end of the year, that means all those Brazil barrels cannot get to California till it's fixed.
San Francisco took in 67.6% o US fuel ethanol imports from Brazil through August, with the remainder going into Los Angeles, according to import data from the US Census Bureau.
California relies on imports from Brazil to generate Low Carbon Fuel Standard credits, as Brazilian product carries a lower carbon intensity score than US ethanol.
NuStar did not respond to a request for comment. Two ethanol storage tanks at the company's terminal caught fire Tuesday, but NuStar said at the time that storage levels in those tanks were low.
