Kinder Morgan Inc. will expand barge-loading capacity at its ethanol terminal in Chicago to help relieve a supply glut there that is driving down global prices for the biofuel, three people briefed on the company’s plans told Reuters.
Tens of thousands of barrels of ethanol change hands at the Kinder Morgan Argo terminal daily, and prices there are used as the benchmark for deals across the country, and are also baked into international contracts.
Trade at the terminal has come under scrutiny, however, after one of the world’s largest commodities merchants, Archer Daniels Midland Co, switched from its typical role as a buyer in late 2017 to a big seller, flooding the hub with ethanol and helping drive the price to near-record lows.
Read the full Reuters report.
