Proposed North Dakota refinery to co-process renewable feedstocks
April 18, 2024
BY Erin Voegele
Meridian Energy Group Inc., the developer of a proposed greenfield oil refinery in Belfield, North Dakota, on April 16 announced that the facility will have the ability to co-process up to 4,000 barrels per day vegetable oil.
The proposed facility, known as the Davis Refinery, is expected to have 49,500 barrels per day of production capacity. According to Merdian Energy Group, the refinery’s diesel hydrotreater unit is designed to co-process up to 20% vegetable oil, producing renewable diesel that will comply with Renewable Fuel Standard requirements.
“This allows us to not only meet our RINS credit balance under the RFS, but to also offset our Scope 1 CO2 emissions,” said Mark Fonda, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Merdian. “This is an important development for the energy industry as it enables the refining industry to accelerate decarbonization and to play an even greater role in the transition to a carbon neutral future.”
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The proposed facility has been under development for nearly a decade, with initial permits granted in 2016. The project broke ground in 2018 but faced multiple delays, including those related to litigation According to the company, field construction activities are expected to resume this summer.
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