Officers at Calumet Specialty Merchandise Companions L.P. mentioned the corporate’s proposed plans to spice up sustainable aviation gasoline (SAF) manufacturing at its Montana Renewables biorefinery throughout third quarter earnings name, held Nov. 9.
Calumet in February 2021 first introduced plans to supply renewable fuels at its present refinery in Nice Falls, Montana, by reconfiguring its outsized hydrocracker to course of as much as 15,000 barrels per day of renewable feedstocks, producing renewable diesel and SAF. The corporate in late December 2022 reported the biorefinery had generated a full month of on-spec renewable diesel and had commenced rail shipments of the product. At the moment, the biorefinery the capability to supply 6,000 barrels per day, with capability scheduled to extend to 12,000 barrels per day following the commissioning of renewable hydrogen, SAF and feedstock pretreatment techniques in early 2023. These techniques grew to become operational earlier this yr. Present SAF capability is within the vary of two,000 to 4,000 barrels per day, however Calumet is contemplating a plan, known as MaxSAF, that will enhance whole capability to 18,000 barrels per day, together with 15,000 barrels per day of SAF.
Louis Todd Borgmann, CEO of Calumet, confirmed throughout the third quarter earnings name that Calumet is continuous to progress engineering round its proposed MaxSAF mission and has narrowed the sector to a brief closing checklist of know-how suppliers and common contractors. He mentioned the corporate is within the closing stage of the applying course of to safe a mortgage assure from the U.S. Division of Power and expects to be ready to completely launch the MaxSAF mission as quickly because it secures DOE approval.
Additionally throughout the name, Borgmann supplied an replace on present operations on the Montana Renewables facility throughout the third quarter. “The quarter began with a robust proof level of Montana Renewables’ earnings energy as we generated $14.2 million of adjusted EBITDA in July whereas processing 70 % of geographically advantaged untreated feedstock,” he mentioned. Operations on the facility, nonetheless, had been impacted by a crack discovered within the stream drum inside the newly constructed hydrogen plant. Borgmann mentioned the corporate initially deliberate to restore the drum rapidly onsite, however after getting a better take a look at harm determined to exchange the steam drum. The substitute was put in as of Nov. 9 and was anticipated to be mechanically full inside the next few days.
Montana Renewables ran at lowered charges whereas the steam system was below restore. In consequence, Borgmann mentioned the corporate took the chance to tug ahead a catalyst change that was in any other case scheduled for April 2024.
Calumet’s Montana Renewables phase reported $38.2 million of adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter, in comparison with EBITDA of $11.3 million throughout the identical interval of final yr.
