Phillips 66 to Build World’s Largest Renewable Diesel, Sustainable Aviation Fuel Plant

August 13, 2020

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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) 800 million gallon monster slated for 2024 opening as P66 says it will convert Rodeo Refinery to renewables -- Phillips 66 will reconfigure its San Francisco Refinery in Rodeo, California, to produce 680 million gallons annually of renewable diesel, renewable gasoline, and sustainable jet fuel. Combined with the production of renewable fuels from an existing project in development, the plant would produce greater than 800 million gallons a year of renewable fuels, making it the world’s largest facility of its kind. The plant would no longer produce fuels from crude oil, but instead would make fuels from used cooking oil, fats, greases and soybean oils.

The announcement comes a day after ExxonMobil announced a 525 million gallon offtake agreement, over 5 years, with the planned Global Clean Energy Holdings project in Bakersfield, California.

Phillips 66 also announced plans to shut down the Rodeo Carbon Plant and Santa Maria refining facility in Arroyo Grande, California, in 2023. Associated crude oil pipelines will be taken out of service in phases starting in 2023.

The refinery is located in north Contra Costa County on the east side of San Francisco Bay.

The project

The project scope includes the construction of pre-treatment units and the repurposing of existing hydrocracking units to enable production of renewable fuels. The plant will utilize its flexible logistics infrastructure to bring in cooking oil, fats, greases and soybean oils from global sources and supply renewable fuels to the California market. This capital efficient investment is expected to deliver strong returns through the sale of high value products while lowering the plant’s operating costs.

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The plant is expected to employ more than 400 jobs and up to 500 construction jobs, using local union labor, including the Contra Costa County Building & Construction Trades.

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Background information and a short video on the project are available here. READ MORE

U.S. Oil Refiners Accelerate Shift to Renewables in Downturn: Phillips 66 shift to biofuels at San Francisco-area oil refinery is industry’s latest re-evaluation in light of Covid-19 and tightening environmental regulations (Wall Street Journal)

Massive oil refiners turn into biofuel plants in the West – Yahoo Finance (Olt News/Bloomberg)

Phillips 66 Plans to Transform San Francisco Refinery into World’s Largest Renewable Fuels Plant (North American Clean Energy)

Phillips 66 Plans to Transform San Francisco Refinery into World's Largest Renewable Fuels Plant (Phillips 66)

Carpool Chats | Ep 12 | World's Largest Renewable Fuels Plant VIDEO (Fuels Institute)

Excerpt from Olt News/Bloomberg: The LCFS credits along with the recently reintroduced federal RIN D5 credits and tax credits for blenders generate about $ 3.32 per gallon in subsidies for renewable diesel producers, which is enough to cover production costs, a (Marijn) Van der Wal said in a report last June.

“It is a staggering amount,” he said over the phone. “You’ll make a lot of money as long as all of these grants come in.”

The Rodeo plant is well suited for conversion because of its dock and rail access to accommodate the tallow, vegetable oils and used cooking oils that will feed the plant, said Nik Weinberg-Lynn, director of renewable energy projects at Phillips 66, by phone. The facility has two hydrocrackers that are important for the conversion process as well as an abundant supply of hydrogen. In addition, the factory is located where the demand is greatest.

“California’s renewable diesel market is certainly the largest in the world,” he said.

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The influx of new entrants into California’s renewable diesel market is creating its own problems, Van der Wal said. So many projects are being proposed that there may not be enough diesel demand in California to absorb the additional fuel. Additionally, existing renewable diesel suppliers in California, including Neste SA and Valero Energy Corp., have locked down much of the feedstock, leaving less tallow and cooking oil for new entrants.

Phillips 66 has yet to get all the raw materials needed for the plant, but he’s confident he can, Weinberg-Lynn said.

“We strongly believe, although it will be a challenge, that there is enough,” he said. READ MORE