[1]http://www.csnews.com/csn/petroleum/article_display.jsp?vnu_content _id=1000901827
M-PACT Speakers Look at the Future of Fuels [cid:part1.07020307.03070609@ouvaton.org] By Melissa Master INDIANAPOLIS -- At the Midwest Petroleum and Convenience Tradeshow held in Indianapolis, Ind., a regional event for petroleum marketers and convenience store operators from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, things got off to a lively start with a session featuring two experts: Bob Bassman, who spoke about petroleum marketing agreements and the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act, and Rick Geise, who spoke about the future of biodiesel. Bassman, a partner at Bassman, Mitchell & Alfano who has served as general counsel to the Petroleum Marketers Association of America since 1979, kicked things off with an overview of the basics of petroleum marketing agreements. "I came into the industry as the model shifted from three-bay full-serve to self-serve gas-and-go," he said. As someone who has seen the industry evolve from the days when handshake contracts were not unheard of, Bassman emphasized the importance of memorializing in writing the terms agreed on by the franchisor and franchisee regarding pricing, the duration of the relationship, the allocation of environmental responsibility and security and amortization agreements. When it comes to dealer and subjobber agreements about basis pricing, Bassman said, "You want to word it precisely." He also noted that in order to comply with the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (PMPA), contracts with all dealers should be uniform to guarantee that they are not discriminatory. In most PMPA litigation, he said, the franchisor has emerged the victor. "What was designed as a shield for franchisees is not infrequently a sword for franchisors," he explained. Bassman also pointed out some popular misconceptions about the scope of the PMPA, explaining that it does not make any reference to pricing or require franchises of any particular duration. It also does not, to the dismay of many litigants who believed otherwise, require that a franchisee be offered the right to purchase his station if the franchisor is selling it, unless the franchisee will be nonrenewed based on that sale. Making Money on Biodiesel Next on the agenda was Geise, director of marketing and brand manager for Cold Spring, Ky.-based Griffin Industries, which collects meat and poultry byproducts, grocery scraps, and restaurant grease and waste from the bakery industry and recycles them into fats, oils, proteins, alternative fuels, leather goods, organic fertilizers and methyl esters for the pet food, animal feed, industrial/chemical, petroleum, leather and turf industries. Seeing that Indianapolis was hosting a "Star Wars" convention, Geise began his presentation with a quote from Yoda: "Decide you must to first dig your well before you become thirsty." In this case, the quote applies to the role of biodiesel in relation to petrodiesel. The traditional role of biodiesel in the eyes of the Department of Energy, Geise explained, has been to reduce dependency on foreign oil, encourage domestic economic development and lower emissions; but the ultimate role of biodiesel, as Geise sees it, should not be to supplant petrodiesel but to extend the functional life of the world's petroleum supply and thus buffer global demand. Geise went on to outline biodiesel's advantages: It can use the same pipes, tanks and fueling systems as petrodiesel; it can be used in standard vehicles formulated for petrodiesel; and it reduces emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon and particulates. Finally, even in blends that are as low as 2 percent biodiesel, biodiesel increases the lubricity of diesel fuel by 50 percent. Geise also touched on the challenges in selling biodiesel, including the fuel management issues created by cold flow; fluctuation in feedstock value that can cause corresponding fluctuations in price; and manufacturer warranties that do not allow for biodiesel usage or mandate low inclusion levels. Finally, he summarized the limitations to biodiesel, saying, "It's never going to be a complete displacement of diesel fuel." In fact, he said, the maximum market penetration is 5 to 7 percent of domestic diesel consumption, due to factors including production capacity and feedstock potential capacity. Despite those limitations, however, biodiesel is a worthwhile investment for jobbers and retailers, Geise concluded. First, there are federal incentives to sell biodiesel, and state incentives in some locations. Second, there is the issue of demand from consumers. He cited a case study with Lykins Oil, which sells a biodiesel blend from seven retail pumps in Kentucky and Ohio. In its first year with biodiesel, the company experienced no operation problems and showed a moderate increase in same-store sales. Geise wrapped up with some advice for adding biodiesel, suggesting that retailers promote their new biodiesel products, be aware and take advantage of subsidies, label biodiesel at the pump, capitalize on its flexibility and start with low-level blends rather than with 100 percent biodiesel. [cid:part2.06020108.09050806@ouvaton.org] [2]M-PACT Speakers Look at the Future of Fuels [3]Shop 'n Save Latest Supermarket to Test Fuel Offering [4]Shell Offers Operators a Break on Credit-Card Fees [5]Gas Stations Cling to Profits as Supplier Costs Dwindle [6]Industry Report Finds Challenges, Opportunities for Convenience Retailers [cid:part3.03000803.04010600@ouvaton.org] References 1. http://www.csnews.com/csn/petroleum/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000901827 2. http://www.csnews.com/csn/petroleum/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000901827 3. http://www.csnews.com/csn/petroleum/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000901826 4. http://www.csnews.com/csn/petroleum/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000892890 5. http://www.csnews.com/csn/petroleum/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000892891 6. http://www.csnews.com/csn/petroleum/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000892887 _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/
