WASHINGTON— Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced
the expansion of the temporary, blanket waiver of the Jones Act, issued Friday,
to also facilitate the transportation of feedstocks, blending components, and
additives used to produce fuels, according to a DHS release.
As a result of impacts caused by Hurricane Sandy, Secretary
Napolitano initially issued a temporary, blanket waiver of the Jones Act to
immediately allow additional oil tankers coming from the Gulf of Mexico to
enter Northeastern ports, to provide additional fuel resources to the region.
According
to Reuters, four companies, at this point unidentified, have told DHS they
intend to take advantage of the waiver. The have until November 13 to load
vessels in the Gulf and until November 20 to deliver the fuel and fuel-products
to the Northeast. Reuters estimates each trip to be worth roughly $2 million in
revenue.
The step was taken as soon as additional assets that could
be used to bring resources to the area were identified, as part of the
Administrations priority to ensure barriers to bring assets to bear are removed,
DHS said.
The Administration is continuing to monitor the situation
and is prepared to take additional actions as necessary to ensure that the
energy needs of the region affected by Hurricane Sandy are met.