Fluor wins contract for renewable diesel complex in Alberta

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The Strathcona refinary near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. PHOTO: Imperial Oil Limited.

New Strathcona complex expected to be largest renewable diesel production facility in Canada.

Fluor Corporation has been awarded a front-end engineering and detailed design, engineering and procurement services contract for Imperial Oil as the company progresses plans to develop a world-class renewable diesel complex at its Strathcona refinery near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The new complex is expected to be the largest renewable diesel production facility in Canada and will produce approximately 20,000 barrels of renewable diesel per day from locally sourced feedstocks.

Imperial Oil is planning to build the complex at the Strathcona refinery using locally grown vegetable oils to meet growing customer demand for cleaner burning fuel products.

Commenting on the contract win, Jim Breuer, group president, energy solutions at Fluor Corporation, said: “Our involvement in this project underscores our ongoing commitment to helping clients deliver sustainable and lower carbon energy. By combining Fluor’s global renewables engineering and construction expertise with the company’s extensive local knowledge, Fluor will provide a robust modular execution approach for this project.”

Fluor will design and integrate a new renewable diesel unit into the existing Strathcona refinery. The integration will include a series of utility tie-ins, electrical and control systems integration as well as commodity storage, loading and unloading capabilities.

Calgary-based Imperial, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil and Canada’s largest petroleum refiner, say that its proposed project would be the largest facility of its kind in Canada, capable of producing more than a billion litres per year of biofuel annually. That works out to the equivalent of about three million tonnes per year of emissions reductions from the Canadian transportation sector when compared with traditional petroleum-based diesel, said Jon Wetmore, Imperial’s vice-president of downstream.

Wetmore said: “For the most part I think all of our customer base is really interested and keen on this. The rail companies, CN Rail and CP Rail, have probably been the most vocal looking for a renewable fuel option for their locomotives.”

Renewable diesel fuel, sometimes called green diesel, is a biofuel that can be produced from a range of sustainable feedstocks including wood, crops and vegetable oils, and even sawdust. Because it is chemically the same as petroleum diesel, renewable diesel can be used in regular diesel engines. That makes it appealing for companies racing to get in line with Canada’s new Clean Fuel Standard, which takes effect next year. The legislation will require liquid fuel suppliers to decrease the carbon intensity of their products by 13% by 2030.