With few exceptions, most gasoline blendstocks imported to the US Atlantic Coast market are not routinely tested for the presence of methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl, or MMT, an octane booster that has come under scrutiny in Europe over complaints from automakers and traders in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp market, a Platts survey indicated.
Complaints about MMT are two-fold -- auto groups blame it for corroding catalysts in the carburetors of cars, while some studies over the years have raised concerns about potential health risks from exposure to the chemical compound.
While the survey revealed concerns about the imports, other buyers said they were certain their purchases were MMT-free because supplies were originating from locales such as Finland, which does not use the additive.
Most of Europe permits MMT in limited amounts; the use of MMT in the US is permitted in the majority of gasoline grades, albeit in such minuscule amounts that it could be construed as a thinly-veiled ban.
Gasoline blendstocks include Eurograde, or EN228, that need to be blended further to meet USAC finished gasoline specifications.
Platts reported last Friday that MMT was being used by some players in July, specifically in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam area to make European specification gasolines. It was not immediately clear if any of the supply has made its way to the US.
Based on Energy Information Administration data, gasoline blendstock imports by origin from across the Atlantic accounted for around 400,000 b/d of the total import figure of 726,000 b/d in April.
This would include RBOB, CBOB and Eurograde.
Except for reformulated gasoline, the US Environmental Protection Agency permits the use of MMT in all gasoline grades, an agency spokeswoman said.
"MMT is approved as a fuel additive in the US for use in gasoline at a maximum concentration of 1/32 gram per gallon manganese," EPA spokeswoman Cathy Milbourn said.
"The Clean Air Act prohibits MMT's use in reformulated gasoline (RFG). In addition, the state of California bans the use of MMT in gasoline," she added.
Yet Milbourn pointed out that very little MMT is currently used, and even then, mostly by small refiners in the Rocky Mountain region.
GENERALLY SANGUINE APPROACH
Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America spokeswoman Amy Rider said Wednesday that although MMT is permitted for use in the US, some transporters and manufacturers avoid it.
Generally, those surveyed said since major pipelines -- namely Colonial and Buckeye -- that ship supplies into the USAC prohibit MMT-mixed gasoline for shipment on their systems, testing for it was moot.
"You would fail your corrosion test" if a supplier tried to move it along the pipelines, a source with a European company said.
"MMT is not allowed on Colonial pipeline; our specifications prohibit heavy metals, and manganese is a heavy metal," Colonial spokesman Steve Baker said.
Buckeye stated a similar prohibition on gasoline specifications for shipments intended on its Northeast system.
In fact, major oil companies also ban the use of MMT in gasoline, the Platts survey indicated.
Pipelines move mostly gasolines that are one step away from being deemed finished, such as RBOB and CBOB.
Those grades become finished product once they are blended with ethanol, making it possible that gasolines produced domestically or imported for use as a blendstock might still have MMT added and sold to another player, who may then blend it to make the final grade.
Among those surveyed, only one major USAC supplier admitted that it routinely tests for MMT at a blendstock level.
"We test for everything" before the cargo is discharged, said a source with the major supplier.
Most other USAC producers said they did not or seldom tested for it.
"MMT should be tested for...but we may not always be testing for it," said a Southeast US supplier, noting that it may have not carried out a test in years.
He noted that with demurrage costs piling up as soon as a ship docks, buyers make discharge priority over testing the cargo before it leaves the ship.
Once the cargo is discharged into tanks, test could be carried out, sources said.
"In Europe they may put it in, but it would cost the buyer in the US to meet the pipeline requirements; there may be legal issues," said a source.
"It is expensive" to fix it, the source said.
Yet one large player downplayed any cause for concern.
"It's not important. We should only test when you blend the RFG batch. By then, there may not be a positive test," said the Connecticut-based player.
Market sources said the metallic additive hikes the octane of gasoline linearly, but after the certain point its influence is minimal. Also, MMT has to be used in sizable amounts.
"If the amount (of MMT) is too small to be detected it would probably be too small to have much impact on the octanes," said a Houston-based source.
