ExxonMobil Corp. (Irving, Tex.) has signed an agreement with Global Clean Energy Holdings to purchase 2.5 million barrels of renewable diesel per year for five years from a converted California refinery starting in 2022.
The renewable diesel will be sourced from a refinery acquired by Global Clean Energy in Bakersfield, California, which is being retooled to produce renewable diesel from Global Clean Energy’s patented varieties of camelina, a fallow land crop that does not displace food crops, and other non-petroleum feedstocks. Following scheduled production startup in 2022, ExxonMobil plans to distribute the renewable diesel within California and potentially to other domestic and international markets.
“Our agreement with Global Clean Energy builds on ExxonMobil’s longstanding efforts to develop and offer products that help meet society’s energy needs while reducing environmental impacts,” said Bryan Milton, president of ExxonMobil Fuels and Lubricants Company. “Chemically similar to petroleum-based diesel, renewable diesel can be readily blended for use in engines on the market today.”
“Our relationship with ExxonMobil is a perfect fit for Global Clean Energy and the Bakersfield biorefinery because it leverages ExxonMobil’s scale and unrivaled market perspective to unlock value for both companies,” said Richard Palmer, CEO of Global Clean Energy Holdings. “By combining upstream feedstock supply and downstream production, we are moving toward the fully integrated production model pioneered by ExxonMobil.”
In addition to camelina, various non-petroleum feedstocks, including used cooking oil, soybean oil, distillers’ corn oil and other renewable sources will be refined to produce the renewable diesel.
Based on analysis of California Air Resources Board (CARB) data, renewable diesel from various non-petroleum feedstocks can provide life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions reductions of approximately 40 percent to 80 percent compared to petroleum-based diesel.