Oil companies paid $1 billion in RINs to comply with RFS in 2015

In New York state, oil refiners paid about $1 billion for the needed RINs to comply with the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2015. RIN prices were about 14% higher in 2015 than 2014, pushing the overall RIN spend by 25% over 2014 but not nearly as high as the record seen in 2013 of $1.35 billion. With low oil prices chipping away at oil company margins, RIN costs take on a greater part of overall operating costs and could start to pinch.