French oil and gas giant Total announced on September 24 that it will invest more than 500 million euros ($584.6 million) to convert its Grandpuits refinery into a renewable diesel plant , processed animal fats and waste cooking oils.
After being converted to a zero crude oil platform, the plant in the Seine-et-Marne department will produce renewable diesel mainly used in the aviation industry, among other products.
Meanwhile, crude oil refining on the platform will cease in the first quarter of 2021, and storage of petroleum products will end by the end of 2023.
“Total is demonstrating its commitment to the energy transition and reaffirming its commitment to The ambition to achieve carbon neutrality in Europe by 2050 is high, said Bernard Pinatel, president of Total Refining & Chemicals.
Grandpuits will have three new industrial units, including a biorefinery. The new 400,000-ton/year unit will be commissioned in 2024 and will produce 170,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel, 120,000 tons of renewable diesel and 50,000 tons of renewable naphtha for the production of bioplastics.
The plant will mainly process animal fats and waste cooking oils from Europe, supplemented by other vegetable oils such as rapeseed oil, excluding palm oil.
In June 2019, Total started operating a 500,000-ton/year biorefinery at its La Mede plant in southern France after transitioning from a crude oil refinery. The factory has sparked controversy over the use of imported palm oil as a raw material.
Total's decision to end refining operations at the Grandpuits refinery follows an audit of the 260-kilometer-long Ile-de-France pipeline (PLIF), which transports crude oil from the port of Le Havre (Port of Le Havre) to the refinery.
The refinery was forced to shut down production for more than five months in 2019 following a leak in a pipeline near the Port of Le Havre in 2014. After government approval, the maximum working pressure of the oil pipeline is reduced to ensure safe operation. This means the refinery can only operate at 70% capacity, threatening its long-term financial viability.
The audit found that normal operations at the refinery could only be resumed by replacing the pipeline, at a cost of nearly 600 million euros ($704 million). Considering France's energy transition plan by 2040, Total decided to end its refining operations in Grand Puyt and change it to the location.