Bolivia’s YPFB to add renewable diesel plant at Santa Cruz refinery

The government of Bolivia and state-owned Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) Corp. have unveiled plans for construction of a grassroots renewable diesel production plant at YPFB subsidiary YPFB Refinación SA’s 24,000-b/d Guillermo Elder Bell refinery in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

Part of Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora’s 2020-25 government plan to secure the country’s energy security, the proposed plant will process 450,000 tonnes/year of vegetable oils and waste-animal fat feedstocks to produce 9,000 b/d—or 3 million bbl/year—of renewable diesel, YPFB said in a series of early-March releases.

Specific feedstocks currently considered for processing at the proposed $250-million plant include soybeans, totaí, motacú, jatropha, used cooking oils, palm, and pine nuts, among other products, which will be sourced from domestic private companies and business ventures, according to the government.

YPFB said it expects to launch a tender to secure an engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning partner for the project during third-quarter 2021, with plant startup targeted for fourth-quarter 2024.

The operator also confirmed it already has entered confidentiality agreements to explore data and information regarding process technologies for the plant with service providers Axens Group of France, Honeywell UOP LLC, and Haldor Topsoe AS.

Alongside contributing to increased energy efficiency and improved environmental performance, YPFB’s planned renewable diesel plant at Santa Cruz—which, once completed, will be the first of its kind in South America—will be a definitive step in establishing energy independence for Boliva, which up to now spends more than $1 billion to import diesel into the country, President Arce said.

In addition to two crude units with capacities of 18,000 b/d and 6,000 b/d, respectively, YPFB’s Santa Cruz refinery hosts two 3,200-b/d catalytic reforming units and a 6,000-b/d light gasoline isomerization unit, according to the company’s website.