Eni-Petronas-Euglena partnership greenlights Malaysian biorefinery project

Eni SPA’s Enilive SPA alongside partners Petroliam Nasional Berhad’s (Petronas) Petronas Mobility Lestari Sdn. Bhd. (PMLSB) and Euglena Co. Ltd. of Japan have taken final investment decision (FID) to build a biorefinery in the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) at Johor in southern Peninsular Malaysia (OGJ Online, Apr. 3, 2023).

As part of the July 26 FID, three companies have agreed to establish a Malaysia-based joint venture company—with PMLSB and Enilive as the largest shareholders—that will build and operate the biorefinery, Eni and Petronas said in separate releases.

Scheduled for start of construction during fourth-quarter 2024 for targeted startup in second-half 2028, the grassroots biorefinery will have a flexible configuration for production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO, or renewable diesel), and bionaphtha to meet rising demand for reduced-carbon fuels from global aviation and transportation customers, the partners said.

Slated for construction adjacent to Petronas’ existing 300,000-b/d integrated conventional refinery and petrochemical installations in PIC, the planned biorefinery will be equipped with the Eni-Honeywell UOP LLC codeveloped proprietary Ecofining technology for flexible processing of about 650,000 tonnes/year (tpy) of 100% waste and residue biofeedstocks including vegetable oils, animal fats, and waste from the processing of vegetable oils.

The partners also are exploring other potential biomass feedstocks such as microalgae oils, with Euglena confirming it will expedite its microalgae research and development activities for supplying algae oil to the global market in line with the project.

To be configured for maximizing production of SAF and HVO, the new biorefinery also will feature a pretreatment unit for its biofeedstocks, which can be sourced from nearby and abroad given the project’s proximity and access to major international shipping lanes, the parties said.

The partners previously said the biorefinery would have a combined production capacity for SAF, HVO, and bionaphtha of 12,500 b/d (OGJ Online, Nov. 6, 2023).