Neste takes Rotterdam refinery offline after fire

Neste Corp. is investigating the cause of a fire that led to a temporary shutdown of processing and production activities at the operator’s 1.4 million tonnes per year (tpy) renewable fuel refinery at the Port of Rotterdam in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Neste said the fire that broke out on Nov. 8 was quickly extinguished and did not cause any injuries, but the incident caused a halt to operations at the refinery, which, according to initial assessments, will remain offline for several weeks.

The operator said it was actively working to mitigate impacts on refinery customers but delivery of renewable diesel volumes from the facility would be affected during the closure period.

Stating that the incident is under investigation, Neste said that repair work will begin as soon as possible.

Although Neste did not disclose details about specific impacts to Rotterdam’s processing facilities, the company confirmed that the fire had no impact on the ongoing €1.9 billion expansion project, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026 and aims to boost the refinery’s renewable energy. Product capacity increased by 1.3 million tonnes to 2.7 million tonnes/year, including the production of 1.2 million tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) (OGJ Online, May 14, 2024).

However, the unplanned closure of Rotterdam in early November resulted in a slight reduction in Neste’s 2024 forecast for the expected system-wide total sales volume of renewable products, with the operator adjusting the forecast to approximately 3.7 million tonnes/year (± 5%) compared to the previous forecast. ) revised as. 3.9 million tpy (± 5%) guidance.

The revised guidance reflects the shortfall in renewable diesel production in Rotterdam, as the operator’s early 2024 forecast for SAF volumes remains unchanged at 335,000-480,000 tonnes/year.

Neste currently produces renewable fuels at production facilities in Porvoo, Finland, Rotterdam, Singapore and the USA.

Neste said in its January-September 2024 interim report published in late October that both the Singapore renewable energy refinery and Marathon Petroleum Corp. He said he expects the 50-50 Martinez Renewables LLC joint venture with the company to expand at its repurposed, formerly conventional refinery. The refinery in Martinez, California, is expected to reach full production capacity by the end of the year respectively (OGJ Online, February 6, 2023).