The Future of the Fuel Oil Industry

The makeup of fuel oil is in for a makeover, and so is the business of being a fuel oil dealer. More and more legislative, regulatory and environmental initiatives are targeting the energy industry. Governors of 11 states in the Northeast and Mid Atlantic region have committed to developing a low-carbon fuel standard, for example, and the Obama administration has said it wants a sharp reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Weighing how to respond to such proposals, John Huber said, ‘We’re not in a position, as an industry, to just say, ‘No.'” Speaking at an industry gathering in Washington, D.C., billed as the Sustainable Liquid Fuels Summit II, Huber, president of the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA), said, ‘Our challenge is to develop a road map for the future of the industry.”

At the summit, the industry won kudos for making a good start.

‘Today’s summit is testament to the oil heat industry’s determination to re-imagine itself in a low-carbon future,” said Arthur Marin, executive director of Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM). Referring to efforts to reduce sulfur in fuel oil, Marin said, ‘Your industry push to go all the way