Marathon Petroleum Corp. has announced its renewable diesel facility in Dickinson, North Dakota, is currently ramping up operations and is on track to reach full production by the end of the first quarter. The company is also progressing with plans to convert its refinery in Martinez, California, to renewables. Company executives discussed both projects during a fourth quarter earnings call, held Feb. 2.

Mike Hennigan, CEO of MPC, said the company worked through startup issues at the Dickenson plant during the fourth quarter of 2020. “This facility is now the second largest renewable diesel facility in the United States,” he said. “Consistent with the timeline we discussed last quarter, we have begun to load trains and ship renewable diesel out of the facility. We remain on track to reach full production by the end of the quarter.”

At full capacity, the Dickinson facility is expected to produce 12,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel from corn and soybean oil. MPC intends to sell renewable diesel produced at the facility into the California market to comply with the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

Hennigan also said Marathon has made excellent progress with its plans to convert its Martinez refinery into a renewable fuels facility. “We continued to progress engineering and permitting activities,” he said. “We expect commissioning in the second half of 2022 with approximately 17,000 barrels per day of capacity. Further, we expect the pretreatment system to be online in 2023 and to reach full capacity of approximately 48,000 barrels per day by the end of 2023.”