The DOE has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to define sustainable maritime fuels

Supporting and advancing future marine fuels technologies and investments, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Request for Information (RFI) to establish a consistent and reliable definition of sustainable marine fuels (SMF) to inform and coordinate with communities, industry, government, and other maritime stakeholders. Maritime Energy and Emissions Innovation Action Plan

(Action Plan), a summary of which was released in December 2024, builds on the 2023 U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonisation and identifies actions aimed at achieving a clean, safe, convenient, and affordable U.S. maritime transportation system. The Action Plan requires the federal government to define ‘sustainable marine fuels,’ which is critical to evaluating and determining future SMF production targets in the Action Plan as well as alternative fuels that are consistent with U.S. 2050 net emissions goals.

$2.6 billion, construction of 12 diesel/biodiesel hybrid vessels

December 19: Petrobras has signed contracts worth R$16.5 billion ($2.6 billion) with Bram Offshore and Starnav Serviços Marítimos for the construction and chartering of 12 platform supply vessels (PSVs).

Of the total value of the contract, R$5.2 billion (approximately US$830 million) will be invested in the Brazilian shipbuilding industry. The vessels will be an integral part of the company’s exploration and production logistics business until 2028.

The support vessels will feature a hybrid propulsion system that combines electric motors and batteries with diesel/biodiesel generators, in line with Petrobras’ commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

2025, Indonesia may phase in B40 directive

Indonesia’s plan to expand its biodiesel mandates from 1 January 2025 has raised concerns that it could curb global palm oil supplies.

Indonesia’s plan to expand its biodiesel blending ratio mandate from 1 January 2025 appears increasingly likely to be implemented gradually as industry players seek a phased-in implementation, analysts said.

Indonesia’s plan to increase the mandatory blending ratio of palm oil in biodiesel from 35 per cent to 40 per cent, known as the B40 directive, is a policy that has sparked a rise in palm futures and is likely to push up palm oil prices further in 2025.

While the Prabowo Subianto administration has repeatedly said the programme is expected to be fully operational by 2025, industry observers say cost and technical challenges could lead to implementation in only some parts of the country’s numerous archipelagos before it is fully implemented.

Eniya Listiani Dewi, a senior energy ministry official, said the mandatory increase would not be phased in gradually and that biodiesel producers were ready to supply higher blends.

Burnaby refinery produces first SAF in Canada

Parkland announced that it has successfully produced Canada’s first batch of low-carbon aviation fuel (SAF) at its Burnaby refinery. With the support of the Government of British Columbia, this is an important step towards delivering a made-in-Canada solution that can help reduce aviation emissions, promote economic growth and support British Columbia and Canada’s low-carbon goals.

Using existing infrastructure, Parkland’s Burnaby refinery has successfully produced approximately 101,000 litres of low-carbon aviation fuel using non-food-grade canola oil and tallow as core feedstocks. Low Carbon Aviation Fuel (LCAF) can be categorised as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) through appropriate certification throughout the supply chain. The fuel has been purchased by Air Canada.

Mabanaft supplies B30 marine biofuel to Hapag-Lloyd

Energy company Mabanaft has reached an agreement with shipping company Hapag-Lloyd to supply B30 marine biofuel.

On 12 December, Mabanaft’s Waltershof tank farm in the German port of Hamburg will make the first test delivery of 1,000 metric tonnes of B30 very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) to the container ship Delaware Express.

The delivery, the company says, follows ‘extensive analyses of possible bio-constituents that Mabanaft could add to the B30 biofuel’.

All options were analysed for quality and potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The agreement with Hapag-Lloyd will initially supply 1,000 tonnes of B30.

More will be available in 2025.

Malaysia used cooking oil futures 42 transactions on the first day of trading

The Malaysian Derivatives Exchange (Bursa Malaysia) introduced US dollar-denominated Used Cooking Oil futures on Monday, with a total of 42 transactions on the first day, equivalent to 1,050 metric tonnes of Used Cooking Oil changing hands.

Bursa Malaysia Derivatives said in a statement that the launch of Used Cooking Oil futures is an important step in diversifying its product supply and making good use of its position as a global trading hub for edible oils, as currently, Used Cooking Oil is mostly traded on a spot or back to back basis, leaving many stakeholders vulnerable to price fluctuations.

Bursa Malaysia has recently signed a licensing agreement with Standard & Poor’s S&P Global Commodity Insights to use Platts UCO FOB Straits assessment pricing to estimate the final settlement price of waste cooking oil.

Senators seek EPA response on UCO imports

On 13 December, Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, and four of their colleagues sent a letter to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Reagan regarding the surge in imports of used cooking oil (UCO), much of which comes from China.

This follows letters sent in June by several senators to the EPA, USDA, US Trade Representative, and the US Consumer and Board of Directors Protection Agency expressing concern about the dramatic increase in UCO imports from China. In the latest letter, Ernst and her colleagues said they have not yet received a response from the EPA regarding their initial enquiry.

The Senators emphasised that the response they received from US Customs and Border Protection earlier this year made it clear that reliance on tariff classification codes is not sufficient to ensure that imported UCO is an eligible renewable fuel feedstock because these codes do not ensure that the UCO is not blended with virgin cooking oil. The Senators explained that reliance on tariff classification codes could mean that a feedstock mixture containing only 1 per cent UCO blended with 99 virgin vegetable oils could be classified as 100 per cent UCO to qualify for the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Japan’s Saffaire SAF project achieves ISCC certification

Japan’s Saffaire Sky Energy has obtained international certification for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and is advancing its domestic SAF production project in Osaka prefecture, the company announced.

Established in 2022, Saffaire Sky Energy is a joint venture between Japanese refiner Cosmo Oil, engineering firm JGC, and biodiesel producer Revo International.

The company received the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification’s (ISCC) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia) in November, confirming the sustainability of the SAF produced at its Sakai plant in Osaka prefecture.

Samsung Opens Its First Biofuel Plant in Malaysia

Samsung has secured a contract for a new biorefinery capable of producing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) to meet the growing global demand in the aviation and transportation industries.

This marks Samsung’s first entry into the SAF market, a new business initiative in the era of energy transition.

The company announced that it has received the Letter of Award (LoA) for the Malaysian project from a joint venture formed by Enilive on behalf of Petronas Mobility Lestari. The EPCC contract is valued at $955 million (€912 million) and is expected to be formally signed by the end of January 2025.

The biorefinery will be located within Petronas’ Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) in Johor, Malaysia. Once completed, it will have the capacity to process approximately 650,000 tons of raw materials annually to produce SAF, HVO, and bio-naphtha.

The feedstock for the biorefinery will include waste vegetable oils, animal fats, by-products from vegetable oil processing, and other biomasses, including microalgae oil, which is expected to be developed in the medium term.

Malaysia to build biofuel plant worth over $1.26bn

South Korea’s Samsung E&A said Thursday it has been awarded a contract to build a refinery in Malaysia that will produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other biofuels.

The contract, worth $955 million, was signed by Italian oil giant Eni Group on behalf of a joint venture between Malaysia’s Petronas and Japan’s Euglena Co Ltd. The contract is expected to be signed by the end of January 2025.

No completion date has been set for the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (EPCC) contract, but Euglena has previously said that the biorefinery is expected to be operational in the second half of 2028.

The EPCC contract follows a final investment decision by Petronas and its partners to develop the project, which is valued at more than $1.26 billion.Petronas and Eni will each hold a 47.5% stake in the joint venture, while Euglena will start with a 5% stake, with an option to increase its stake to 15%.

The biorefinery will be located in the Bianjaran Integrated Park in Johor and, when completed, will process about 650,000 tons of raw materials per year for the production of SAF, hydrogenated vegetable oil and bio-naphtha.

Planned feedstocks will include waste vegetable oils, animal fats, waste from vegetable oil processing and other biomass including microalgae oils to be explored in the medium term.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)