Gron Fuels, a portfolio company of Fidelis Infrastructure, is studying the feasibility of a renewable fuels complex in Louisiana that could eventually see a total investment of $9.2bn over several phases.
A final investment decision is expected in 2021, which will determine the final cost of the project’s first phase.
Plans for the project call for it to be built in stages over nine years at a site leased from the Port of Greater Baton Rouge on the west bank of the Mississippi River, according to a release from Louisiana Economic Development (LED).
The potential project is the latest to focus on renewable fuels in the US, according to Michael Connolly, ICIS senior consultant, global refining.
“This project is interesting,”Connolly said.“This would be on scale with the three large plants under consideration or already approved in California.”
One of those projects is at the old Paramount Petroleum refinery in Paramount, California, which was sold by Delek US Holdings to World Energy in 2018.
In another, Phillips 66 plans to reconfigure its refinery in Rodeo, California, to produce renewable fuels.
And Marathon Petroleum said it will convert its 19,000 bbl/day refinery in Dickinson, North Dakota, into a 12,000 bbl/day renewable diesel refinery by late 2020.
A difference, Connolly said, is that the other projects are a mix of stand-alone and integrated projects using existing infrastructure or re-using old refineries, which all involve existing equipment to be revamped at a significant cost savings.
