Pertamina begins Cilacap renewable diesel trial in Nov

Market: Biofuels
13/11/20

Indonesian state-controlled refiner Pertamina will begin trials of renewable diesel production at its 348,000 b/d Cilacap refinery by the end of the month.

It will produce 3,000 b/d of what the company is branding D100 Green Diesel, made from refined, bleached and deodorised palm oil.

Pertamina hopes to double output to 6,000 b/d early next year, well ahead of the initial target of June 2022.

This will be the second Pertamina refinery manufacturing renewable diesel after it began production of 1,000 b/d at its 170,000 b/d Dumai site earlier this year.

The company signed a deal with US energy firm Honeywell in September to implement the renewable diesel manufacturing technology at Cilcap and its 118,000 b/d Plaju refinery, which will produce 20,000 b/d of renewable jet fuel, diesel fuel and liquified petroleum gas by 2023.

The ramp up in output is in part to muffle crude oil imports and support the domestic palm oil industry given efforts to hit a 23pc renewable energy target by 2025.

By Amandeep Parmar

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07/04/25

Flooding on US rivers mires barge transit

Houston, 7 April (Argus) — Barge transit slowed across the Arkansas, Ohio and lower Mississippi rivers over the weekend because of flooding, which prompted the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to close locks and issue transit restrictions along the waterways. The Corps advised all small craft to limit or halt transit on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MCKARNS) in Arkansas because flows reached above 200,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), nearly three times the high-water flow. The heavy flow is expected to persist throughout the week, posing risks to those transiting the river system, said the Corps. Some barges have halted movement on the river, temporarily miring fertilizer resupply efforts in Arkansas and Oklahoma in the middle of the urea application season. The Corps forecasts high flows to continue into Friday, and the National Weather Service predicts several locations along the MCKARNS will maintain a moderate to minor flood stage into Friday as well. Both the Arthur V Ormond Lock and the Toad Suck Ferry Lock, upriver from Little Rock, Arkansas, shut on 6 April because of the high flows. Flows along the Little Rock Corps district reached 271,600cfs on 7 April. The Corps forecasts high flows to continue into Friday. Ohio and lower Mississippi rivers The Corps restricted barge transit between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Cairo, Illinois, on the Ohio River to mitigate barge transportation risks, with the Corps closing two locks on the Ohio River on 6 April and potentially four more in the coming days. Major barge carrier American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) anticipates dock and fleeting operations will be suspended at certain locations along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers as a result of the flooding. NWS forecasters anticipate major flooding levels to persist through the following week. Barge carriers also expect a backlog of up to two weeks in the region. To alleviate flooding at Cairo, Illinois, where the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers meet, the Corps increased water releases at the Barkley Dam on the Cumberland River and the Kentucky Dam on the Tennessee River. The Markland Lock, downriver from Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Newburgh lock near Owensboro, Kentucky, closed on 6 April. The Corps expects the full closure to remain until each location reaches its crest of nearly 57ft, which could occur on 8 or 9 April, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Around 50 vessels or more are waiting to transit each lock, according to the Lock Status Report published by the Corps on 7 April. The Corps also shut a chamber at both Cannelton and McAlpine locks. The John T Myers and Smithland locks may close on 7 April as well, the Corps said. The Olmsted Lock, the final lock before the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, will require a 3mph limit for any traffic passing through. The NWS expects roughly 10-15 inches of precipitation fell along the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys earlier this month, inducing severe flooding across the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys. A preliminary estimate from AccuWeather stated an estimated loss of $80-90bn in damages from the extreme flooding. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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USDA to release paused funds for higher biofuel blends

04/04/25

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04/04/25

USDA to release paused funds for higher biofuel blends

New York, 4 April (Argus) — The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said this week that the agency would release $537mn for 543 projects meant to expand infrastructure for higher biofuel blends, reviving many projects that were funded by former US president Joe Biden and then paused by the new administration. The grants will help support the installation of biofuel storage tanks and dispensers of higher ethanol blends, including E15 and E85, and higher biodiesel blends, including B20 and B99. They come from the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program, which started during US president Donald Trump's first term to help reduce the cost of installing biofuel infrastructure but was more recently expanded in scope with new funds from the Inflation Reduction Act. Project funding had been stalled after Trump pressed federal agencies to pause the disbursement of funds appropriated by that 2022 climate law. That directive affected projects due for funding under the higher blends program, including some approved in the final days of the Biden administration. Trump's efforts to freeze legislatively-approved funding is the subject of multiple court cases. USDA said that of the 543 projects approved for support, 188 projects — amounting to nearly $260mn of spending — were new commitments under the Trump administration. The largest of the new projects is a $14.3mn grant for QuikTrip to install E15 and B20 dispensers at 75 fueling stations across 13 states. More projects received funds in California than in any other state. USDA said releasing the funds — at the same time as various other government programs remain on hold — is part of its commitment to "aggressively exploring ways to unleash American energy and incentivize the production and use of homegrown US biofuels." Biofuel groups see potential for supportive policy under the Trump administration and lobbied US officials at a meeting this week for a steep increase in biomass-based diesel blend mandates. Ethanol lobbyists are privately optimistic too that the administration will soon start issuing emergency waivers to bypass typical summertime limits on nationwide E15 access. Support for biofuels is one way the Trump administration could reduce the toll on US farmers from an increasingly volatile trade war that threatens to cut off export markets for US corn and soy. USDA noted that the higher blends program, by allowing for more ethanol and biodiesel consumption, "protects American farmers from retaliatory trade practices." By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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New tariffs could upend US tallow imports

03/04/25

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03/04/25

New tariffs could upend US tallow imports

New York, 3 April (Argus) — New US tariffs on nearly all foreign products could deter further imports of beef tallow, a fast-rising biofuel feedstock and food ingredient that had until now largely evaded President Donald Trump's efforts to reshape global trade. Tallow was the most used feedstock for US biomass-based diesel production in January for the first month ever, with consumption by pound rising month to month despite sharp declines in actual biorefining and in use of competing feedstocks. The beef byproduct benefits from US policies, including a new federal tax credit known as "45Z", that offer greater subsidies to fuel derived from waste than fuel derived from first-generation crops. Much of that tallow is sourced domestically, but the US also imported more than 880,000t of tallow last year, up 29pc from just two years earlier. The majority of those imports last year came from Brazil, which until now has faced a small 0.43¢/kg (19.5¢/lb) tariff, and from Australia, which was exempt from any tallow-specific tariffs under a free trade agreement with US. But starting on 5 April, both countries will be subject to at least the new 10pc charge on foreign imports. There are some carveouts from tariffs for certain energy products, but animal fats are not included. Some other major suppliers — like Argentina, Uruguay, and New Zealand — will soon have new tariffs in place too, although tallow from Canada is for now unaffected because it is covered by the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement. Brazil tallow shipments to the US totaled around 300,000t in 2024, marking an all-time high, but tallow shipments during the fourth quarter of 2024 fell under the 2023 levels as uncertainty about future tax policy slowed buying interest. Feedstock demand in general in the US has remained muted to start this year because of poor biofuel production margins, and that has extended to global tallow flows. Tallow suppliers in Brazil for instance were already experiencing decreased interest from US producers before tariffs. Brazil tallow prices for export last closed at $1,080/t on 28 March, rising about 4pc year-to-date amid support from the 45Z guidance and aid from Brazil's growing biodiesel industry, which is paying a hefty premium for tallow compared to exports. While the large majority of Brazilian tallow exports end up in the US, Australian suppliers have more flexibility and could send more volume to Singapore instead if tariffs deter US buyers. Export prices out of Australia peaked this year at $1,185/t on 4 March but have since trended lower to last close at $1,050/t on 1 April. In general, market participants say international tallow suppliers would have to drop offers to keep trade flows intact. Other policy shifts affect flows Even as US farm groups clamored for more muscular foreign feedstock limits over much of the last year, tallow had until now largely dodged any significant restrictions. Recent US guidance around 45Z treats all tallow, whether produced in the US or shipped long distances to reach the US, the same. Other foreign feedstocks were treated more harshly, with the same guidance providing no pathway at all for road fuels from foreign used cooking oil and also pinning the carbon intensity of canola oil — largely from Canada — as generally too high to claim any subsidy. But tariffs on major suppliers of tallow to the US, and the threat of additional charges if countries retaliate, could give refiners pause. Demand could rise for domestic animal fats or alternatively for domestic vegetable oils that can also be refined into fuel, especially if retaliatory tariffs cut off global markets for US farm products like soybean oil. There is also risk if Republicans in the Trump administration or Congress reshape rules around 45Z to penalize foreign feedstocks. At the same time, a minimum 10pc charge for tallow outside North America is a more manageable price to pay compared to other feedstocks — including a collection of charges amounting to a possible 69.5pc tax on Chinese used cooking oil. And if the US sets biofuel blend mandates as high as some oil and farm groups are pushing , strong demand could leave producers with little choice but to continue importing at least some feedstock from abroad to continue making fuel. Not all US renewable diesel producers will be equally impacted by tariffs either. Diamond Green Diesel operates Gulf Coast biorefineries in foreign-trade zones, which allow companies to avoid tariffs on foreign inputs for products that are ultimately exported. Biofuel producers in these zones could theoretically refine foreign tallow, claim a 45Z subsidy, and avoid feedstock tariffs as long as they ship the fuel abroad. Jurisdictions like the EU and UK, where sustainable aviation fuel mandates took effect this year, are attractive destinations. And there is still strong demand from the US food sector, with edible tallow prices in Chicago up 18pc so far this year. Trump allies, including his top health official, have pushed tallow as an alternative to seed oils. By Cole Martin and Jamuna Gautam Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Funding cuts could delay US river lock renovations

03/04/25

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03/04/25

Funding cuts could delay US river lock renovations

Houston, 3 April (Argus) — The US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) will have to choose between various lock reconstruction and waterway projects for its annual construction plan after its funding was cut earlier this year. Last year Congress allowed the Corps to use $800mn from unspent infrastructure funds for other waterways projects. But when Congress passed a continuing resolutions for this year's budget they effectively removed that $800mn from what was a $2.6bn annual budget for lock reconstruction and waterways projects. This means a construction plan that must be sent to Congress by 14 May can only include $1.8bn in spending. No specific projects were allocated funding by Congress, allowing the Corps the final say on what projects it pursues under the new budget. River industry trade group Waterways Council said its top priority is for the Corps to provide a combined $205mn for work at the Montgomery lock in Pennsylvania on the Ohio River and Chickamauga lock in Tennesee on the Tennessee River since they are the nearest to completion and could become more expensive if further delayed. There are seven active navigation construction projects expected to take precedent, including the following: the Chickamauga and Kentucky Locks on the Tennessee River; Locks 2-4 on the Monongahela River; the Three Rivers project on the Arkansas River; the LaGrange Lock and Lock 25 on the Illinois River; and the Montgomery Lock on the Ohio River. There are three other locks in Texas, Pennsylvania and Illinois that are in the active design phase (see map) . By Meghan Yoyotte Corps active construction projects 2025 Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Prio supplies B100 for bunkering in Portugal

03/04/25

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03/04/25

Prio supplies B100 for bunkering in Portugal

Sao Paulo, 3 April (Argus) — Portuguese biodiesel supplier Prio has supplied B100 marine biodiesel and fixed contracts for the supply pure hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) into marine for the first time in Portugal. The bunker fuel delivery comprising 30t of 100pc used cooking oil methyl ester (Ucome) biodiesel took place in the Portuguese port of Viana do Castelo to the ferry Lobo Marinho and the containership Funchalense V , both owned by Grupo Sousa. Prio said the B100 supply achieved an emission intensity value of about 11.4 gCO2e/MJ, reflecting greenhouse gas (GHG) savings of about 88pc against a default fossil bunker value. The company also fixed summer-season March-July contracts with a cruise liner for the supply of 175t of Class II HVO at the port of Lisbon. This fuel is produced from used cooking oil (UCO). The B100 and HVO supplies are done on an ex-truck delivery basis. Marine biodiesel is seen as an alternative to conventional bunker fuels since the introduction of FuelEU Maritime regulations starting this year, which require ships traveling in, out, and within EU territorial waters to reduce GHG emissions by 2pc on a lifecycle basis and increasing up to 80pc by 2050. Argus assessed the price of Class II HVO fob ARA at an average of $1,795.13/t in the first quarter of this year, compared with $1,431.46/t for Ucome fob ARA in the same time in 2024. Both biofuels were marked well above conventional bunker fuel prices. Very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) dob ARA averaged $515.56/t and marine gasoil (MGO) dob ARA was $655.37/t during January-March this year. By Hussein Al-Khalisy and Natália Coelho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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