Eni confirmed it is conducting a feasibility study with the intention to build a new biorefinery in Livorno, Italy, said the company.
Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), which is produced by hydrogenating vegetable oils, will be the primary biofuel produced at the planned biorefinery. Three new plants are being planned for the biorefinery, including a biogenic feedstock pre-treatment unit, a 500,000 tonne/year Ecofining plant and a plant to produce hydrogen from methane gas.
Biorefineries transform waste raw materials, residues and waste resulting from the processing of vegetable products and oils from crops into transport biofuels such as HVO and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), as well as bio-LPG and bio-naphtha for use in the chemical industry.
Recently revised EU biofuel mandates featured both HVO and SAF consumption targets under transport fuels. “The coexistence of bio and traditional plants has been successfully tested with the recent production of Eni Biojet in Livorno, the first SAF exclusively from waste raw materials, animal fats and used vegetable oils thanks to the synergy with Eni's bio-refinery in Gela. Our goal is to increase the availability of decarbonised and sustainable products to our customers and to meet our scope 3 emission reduction targets,” declared Giuseppe Ricci, Chief Operating Officer of Eni’s Energy Evolution.
The design of the Livorno plants is expected to be finalised by 2023, with construction potentially being conducted by 2025. Local institutions and trade unions are expected to carry out discussions with ENI officials to produce an “inclusive industrial relations model”, according to ENI. The company recently began importing vegetable oil from Kenya to its biorefinery in Gela, Italy.
We remind, Eni informs that it has acquired the company Export LNG Ltd, which owns the Tango FLNG floating liquefaction facility, from Exmar group. The facility will be used by Eni in the Republic of Congo, as part of the activities of the natural gas development project in the Marine XII block, in line with Eni's strategy to leverage gas equity resources. The Tango FLNG, built in 2017, has a treatment capacity of approximately 3 million standard cubic meters/day and an LNG production capacity of approximately 0.6 million tons per year (about 1 billion standard cubic meters/year). The acquisition of this facility allows the development of a fast-track model capable of seizing the opportunities of the LNG market. In addition, the high flexibility and mobility characteristics of the Tango FLNG will favour the development and enhancement of Eni's equity gas by accelerating production start-up time.
mrchub.com