Marathon’s Dickinson renewable fuels plant receives grant for potential CCUS project
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded funding to support works that would advance implementation of a possible carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) project at Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s (MPC) renewable fuels production plant in Dickinson, ND (OGJ Online, Aug. 5, 2021).
Awarded on July 10 to the University of North Dakota’s (UND) Energy & Environment Research Center (EERC), the $2.5-million grant will enable UND, with direction from partners alongside partners MPC and TC Energy Corp., to provide technical assistance and engagement to a prospective large-scale carbon management storage hub at MPC’s Dickinson renewable diesel plant, according to a series of separate releases from DOE and US Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and John Hoeven (R-ND).
Distributed through DOE’s Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSP) program designed to advance CCUS demonstration projects and mapping potential storage locations across the US, the funds will specifically allow EERC to organize, lead, and maintain meaningful engagement and mutual learning between carbon management developers and local communities, with strong emphasis on public engagement activities, environmental justice analysis, and social science research to support better understanding of the regional social landscape in which the possible CCUS hub would be developed, DOE said.
The grant for MPC’s proposed Dickinson CCUS development—one of 16 projects across 14 states recently awarded DOE funding under the RCSP program—comes as part of the agency’s focus on accelerating large-scale deployment of carbon management technologies to reduce emissions from hard-to-decarbonize industrial installations and power plants, a crucial element in meeting President Biden’s ambitious climate goals, DOE said.
“There’s no denying that to reach our climate goals technology will play a central role in the reduction of harmful carbon emissions that are exacerbating the impacts of climate change,” said US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. “Today’s investments will help regions across the nation develop locally-focused pathways that advance the deployment of carbon management technology, while delivering more jobs and cleaner air.”
The grant additionally complements North Dakota’s enhanced efforts to strengthen its leadership in CCUS, as well as increase the nexus between its in-state agriculture and energy sectors.
“Renewable diesel provides an important local market for our state’s soybean growers, while supporting good-paying jobs like we’ve worked to bring through new soybean crush facilities,” according to Hoeven.
“This $2.5-million award to support the implementation of CCUS at [MPC’s Dickinson site] builds upon the strong partnership between our [agriculture] and energy industries, and this project comes as another important example of how our state is leading the way in new energy innovations,” Hoeven said.
While DOE confirmed the potential Dickinson project received a total of about $3.3 million—including nearly $784,000 in non-DOE funding—further details regarding the CCUS project have yet to be disclosed.
The grant award follows MPC’s confirmation in its latest annual report to investors that, by yearend 2022, the company had completed unidentified works that have enabled the Dickinson renewables plant to run more advantaged feedstocks that lower the carbon intensity of fuels produced at the site.
In late 2021, MPC (25%) and Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM; 75%) finalized formation of their Green Bison Soy Processing LLC joint venture, which will own and operate a soybean processing complex in Spiritwood, ND, for production of soybean oil to supply rapidly growing demand for renewable diesel fuel, the company said in its annual 2022 report.
When completes in 2023, the Spiritwood plant will produce about 600 million lbs/year of refined soybean oil—enough feedstock to produce about 75 million gal/year of renewable diesel—using soybeans sourced from local soybean growers. MPC said its Dickinson renewables plant will receive the entirety of Green Bison’s refined soybean oil as feedstock for renewable diesel production.
Initially commissioned in late 2020 and achieving full-design operating capacity during second-quarter 2021, MPC’s Dickinson plant is equipped to produce 184 million gal/year of renewable diesel from corn oil, soybean oil, fats, and greases, the operator said in its 2022 annual report.
Robert Brelsford | Downstream Editor
Robert Brelsford joined Oil & Gas Journal in October 2013 as downstream technology editor after 8 years as a crude oil price and news reporter on spot crude transactions at the US Gulf Coast, West Coast, Canadian, and Latin American markets. He holds a BA (2000) in English from Rice University and an MS (2003) in education and social policy from Northwestern University.
