The company unveiled plans to convert the San Francisco Refinery’s Rodeo facility into the world’s largest renewable fuels plant in support of growing demand for these high-value products and California’s environmental goals.
Dubbed Rodeo Renewed, the project will reconfigure Rodeo to produce 800 million gallons per year of renewable diesel, renewable gasoline and sustainable jet fuel from used cooking oils, fats, greases and soybean oils. If approved, production of these fuels is expected to begin in early 2024.
“Phillips 66 is taking a significant step with Rodeo Renewed to support demand for renewable fuels and help California meet its low-carbon objectives,” Phillips 66 Chairman and CEO Greg Garland said. “We believe the world will require a mix of fuels to meet the growing need for affordable energy, and the renewable fuels from Rodeo Renewed will be an important part of that mix.”
Phillips 66 also announced plans to shut down its Santa Maria refining facility in Arroyo Grande, California, starting in 2023 and its carbon plant in Rodeo later that same year. Santa Maria is currently part of the Phillips 66 San Francisco Refinery and supplies Rodeo with intermediate products via a 200-mile pipeline. Associated crude oil pipelines will be taken out of service in phases starting in 2023.
Rodeo Renewed is a major addition to Phillips 66’s portfolio of renewable and alternative fuel projects, which include other renewable diesel investments on the West Coast and in the United Kingdom, hydrogen fueling stations in Switzerland and green hydrogen production in the U.K.
Renewable diesel is a “drop-in” replacement fuel that is chemically identical to crude oil-derived diesel but with lower carbon intensity. Renewable gasoline and sustainable jet fuel are also considered “drop-in” replacements when blended to make low-carbon, low-sulfur, high-performing fuels.
The conversion is expected to significantly improve Rodeo’s profitability while lowering its operating costs. It is also expected to reduce the plant’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50%, and enable Phillips 66 to cover its California Low-Carbon Fuel Standards obligations.
Phillips 66 will construct pre-treatment units, repurpose existing hydrocrackers and leverage existing logistical infrastructure to achieve the reconfiguration, which will yield 680 million gallons per year (44,000 barrels per day) of renewable transportation fuels.
Rodeo already is adding 120 million gallons per year (8,000 BPD) of renewable diesel through a hydrotreater conversion project set for startup by mid-2021. That project will use soybean oil as feedstock.
“(Rodeo Renewed) is a great example of how Phillips 66 is making investments in the energy transition that will create long-term value for our shareholders,” Garland said.
