Phillips 66 to turn San Francisco refinery into renewable fuels plant

Energy manufacturing and logistics company Phillips 66 has announced plans to convert its 120,200 barrels per day (bpd) Rodeo refinery near San Francisco in California to produce renewable fuels.

With the latest move, Phillips 66 will become the latest US oil refiner to announce plans to reconfigure an existing plant to make more eco-friendly fuels.

According to the company, the plant will no longer produce fuels from crude oil. It will instead process fuel from used cooking oil, greases, and other soybean oils.

Known as the ‘Phillips 66 Rodeo Renewed’ project, the reconfigured refinery will produce 680 million gallons per annum of renewable diesel, renewable gasoline, and ‘sustainable’ jet fuel.

Phillips 66 chairman and CEO Greg Garland said: “Phillips 66 is taking a significant step with Rodeo Renewed to support demand for renewable fuels and help California meet its low carbon objectives.

“We believe the world will require a mix of fuels to meet the growing need for affordable energy, and the renewable fuels from Rodeo Renewed will be an important part of that mix.

“This project is a great example of how Phillips 66 is making investments in the energy transition that will create long-term value for our shareholders.”

If approved by the respective authorities, renewable fuels production is anticipated to begin in 2024.

Over the next three years, the company will idle crude processing in a phased manner.

Furthermore, Phillips 66 will also shut down the Rodeo carbon plant and the Santa Maria refining facility in California in 2023.

In February this year, Phillips 66 Partners signed an agreement to acquire Phillips 66’s 50% stake in the Liberty Pipeline project, US, for $75m.

In June 2018, Phillips 66 decided to proceed with an expansion of its natural gas liquids (NGL) project in Sweeny, Texas, US, with a $1.5bn investment.