A coalition made up of 80 groups that are seeking an end to “excessive speculation” wrote a letter to Congress on June 3 urging them to pass legislation that adds transparency and oversight to the commodities market.

President Barack Obama recently called on Congress to make commodity traders’ actions more transparent, which would add to regulation put in place last year with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Reauthorization Act, which gave the CFTC greater authority over commercial markets.

But the Commodity Markets Oversight Coalition says these are only “positive steps in the right direction” of a much longer journey to increased market oversight and stabilization.

Valero Energy Corp. said last week it will “indefinitely delay” hydrocracker projects at its refineries in St. Charles, Louisiana, and Port Arthur, Texas, as it spends capital to acquire capacity rather than construct it.

In the last three months, the company acquired seven ethanol plants and a site currently under development from VeraSun Energy Corp. for $477 million, excluding working capital, while also announcing its pending acquisition of The Dow Chemical Company’s 45 percent interest in Total Raffinaderij Nederland N.V., which owns a crude oil refinery in the Netherlands, for $600 million, excluding working capital.

Valero expects its total capital expenditures this year to be approximately $2.5 billion, of which approximately $1 billion is for strategic projects.