Neste Oyj, Finland’s only oil refiner, has begun studying how it can end the processing of crude in the Nordic country by the middle of the next decade.
The world’s biggest maker of renewable diesel said its refinery in Porvoo, which already makes biofuels, is set to undergo a transformation starting with the coprocessing of renewable and circular feedstock, a statement said.
A spokeswoman verified the statement.
Photo: Reuters
The transition could continue with retrofits of existing units at a later stage, and the targeted transformation would lead to a discontinuation of crude oil refining in Porvoo in the mid-2030s, the company said.
It would also continue to actively study opportunities of green hydrogen at the site.
Neste is seen as somewhat of a pioneer in the oil industry having made its first investment in renewable diesel — a product made entirely from renewable raw materials — as early as 2005.
After initially being unprofitable, the product overtook traditional oil products as the company’s main profit driver in 2018. The refiner is also processing sustainable aviation fuel from waste and makes renewable polymers and chemicals.
Porvoo’s track record of making fuel from crude goes back to 1965. Neste previously ran another small refinery in Finland, but shuttered the Naantali plant in southwestern Finland last year.
Becoming a pure-play renewables company would require “significant investments over the coming decade,” Neste said, adding that any such investment decisions would be taken as the planning progresses.
Separately, Finnish power retailer Karhu Voima Oy, a unit of KSS Energia Oy, yesterday said that it had filed for bankruptcy due to a sharp rise in electricity prices that made its business unprofitable.
Various options for improving the company’s outlook had been considered, including a merger with the parent company, but this would not have been sufficient, the company said.
“In light of the high energy price forecasts for the upcoming winter, conditions for continuing the business were not in place,” Karhu Voima CEO Olli-Pekka Rantala said in a statement. “Filing for bankruptcy was an inevitable solution.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
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