An Obligated Party is a refiner or importer of gasoline or diesel fuel that is required under the US EPA's Renewable Fuel Standard to blend a set volume of renewable fuel into the transportation fuel supply each year, or to acquire an equivalent number of RINs to demonstrate compliance.
Any refiner or importer that produces or imports gasoline or diesel fuel for use in the United States is generally classified as an Obligated Party under the RFS, with its obligation scaled to the volume of fuel it introduces into commerce. However, please check the EPA guidelines for more details on Obligated Parties.
Each year, the EPA assigns every obligated party a Renewable Volume Obligation, a target volume of renewable fuel it must account for, expressed across the different RIN categories (D-codes).
An obligated party can meet its RVO either by blending renewable fuel directly (generating its own RINs) or by purchasing separated RINs on the open market to cover any shortfall, then retiring enough RINs to match its obligation by the compliance deadline.
An Obligated Party that doesn't retire enough RINs to cover its RVO is out of compliance and can face EPA enforcement action, including penalties, so accurate tracking of RIN holdings against the obligation is a core compliance task.
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Obligated Party
