Shell Louisiana site may be re-purposed for HVO/SAF

IN BRIEF

SPAIN: National oil and gas company Cepsa has started producing biofuels from used cooking oil (UCO) at its La Rábida Energy Park facility in Palos de la Frontera, Huelva.

Cepsa said on 30 September that it aimed to produce 2.5M tonnes of biofuels by 2030 and the Huelva development was part of its 2030 Positive Motion strategy to promote the decarbonisation of air, road and sea transport.

USA: Renewable fuels company Aemetis has agreed 10 sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) supply deals worth US$7bn with 10 airlines.

Supply agreements had been made with Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Jet Blue Airlines and Qantas, Aemetis said on 7 September. They would involve the delivery of SAF for between seven and 10 years. The SAF deals comprised blended fuel – 40% SAF and 60% petroleum jet fuel – scheduled to be delivered to San Francisco International and Los Angeles International airports. The agreed HVO was expected to be delivered to Northern California truck fuelling locations.

USA: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to extend the period of annual biofuel blending mandates from one year to three years, Reuters quoted sources as saying on 2 September.

Switching to a multi-year target aimed to provide longer-term certainty to the refining and biofuels industries. The sector has been given annual mandates for more than a decade under the US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

Shell Louisiana site may be re-purposed for HVO/SAF

Global oil giant Shell is close to reaching a final investment decision to re-purpose its Gulf Coast refinery in Louisiana, USA, to produce hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the Houston Chronicle reported on 29 September.

The US$1.48bn project’s first phase would include a low carbon fuels facility unit to produce HVO and SAF from plant oils, animal fats and used cooking oils, the report said.

Plans to repurpose the Convent site, northwest of New Orleans, were the first in a series of projects Shell was considering for its chemical facilities along the Gulf Coast to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels. The regional spending plan could reportedly cost as much as US$10bn.

Shell was also considering new projects at facilities in Deer Park, east of Houston; and Geismar and Norco in Louisiana, to help the company reduce emissions and provide reduced-carbon products and chemicals, the report said.

Shell was prioritising projects in the region based on the most in demand low-carbon products, which now included biodiesel and SAF, said Emma Lewis, Shell’s senior vice president of Gulf Coast chemicals and products.

Before its closure in November 2020, the Convent refinery processed around 240,000 barrels/day of crude oil.

Total secures feedstock for Grandpuits site

French oil giant TotalEnergies has entered an agreement with German rendering company SARIA to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its Grandpuits refinery in Seine-etMarne, France.

The agreement would help TotalEnergies secure a feedstock supply – used cooking oils (UCO) and animal fats – to produce SAF and would increase the facility’s production capacity to 210,000 tonnes/year, 25% higher than forecast in the initial project announced in 2020, the company said on 26 September.

As part of the agreement, TotalEnergies said it would take 50% of SARIA’s production capacity to supply animal fat esters to the refinery. SARIA would take an equivalent stake in Grandpuit’s biofuels business, which TotalEnergies would continue to operate.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval.

Photo: TotalEnergies TotalEnergies is securing used cooking oil and animal fats feedstock for its Grandpuits refinery (above)

China biodiesel production to rise by 32%

Biodiesel production in China is expected to increase by 32% this year compared to 2021 mainly due to a surge in export demand, Biodiesel magazine wrote on 20 September.

The country currently had 46 biodiesel plants, up from 44 last year and 42 in 2020, the magazine quoted from a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report.

Nameplate capacity was expected to reach 4.7bn litres this year, up from 2.8bn litres last year and 2.726bn litres in 2020, with capacity utilisation expected to drop to 51.7% this year, compared to 65.5% last year and 53.4% in 2020.

The USDA estimated that 2.381M tonnes of used cooking oil (UCO) was expected to be used as feedstock for biodiesel production this year, up from 1.798M tonnes last year and 1.426M tonnes in 2020.

China was forecast to produce 2.43bn litres of biodiesel this year, up from 1.835bn litres last year and 1.455bn litres in 2020, with consumption expected to reach 600M litres this year, up from 564M litres last year and 522M litres in 2020, the USDA report said.

Biodiesel exports from China were forecast at 2.125bn litres this year, up from 1.835bn litres last year and 1.455bn litres in 2020, with most of the total volume destined for the European Union.

China is expected to import 295M litres of biodiesel this year, up from 204M litres last year and 102M litres in 2020, according to the USDA.