PBF Energy Inc. on May 2 announced that its St. Bernard Renewables facility operated well during the first quarter of this year, producing an average of 18,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel during the quarter. 

The SBR biorefinery is co-located at PBF Energy’s Chalmette oil refinery in Louisiana. The 320 MMgy facility primarily produces renewable diesel and is jointly owned by PBF Energy and Eni Sustainable Mobility Spa. PBF and Eni closed on the 50-50 partnership in St. Bernard Renewables in mid-2023.

The SBR facility’s renewable diesel unit began operations in June 2023, and a feedstock pretreatment unit was brought online the following month. 

Karin Davis, chief financial officer of PBF Energy, discussed the biorefinery’s operations during the company’s first quarter earnings call, held May 2. 

Davis said the company completed a catalyst change and some optimization work at the SBR biorefinery during the fourth quarter of 2023, which allowed the facility to produce approximately 18,000 barrels per day during the first quarter of this year. She said the company currently expects production levels to remain near that level during the second quarter. PBF in February announced that biorefinery’s production averaged 17,000 barrels per day during the third quarter of 2023 and 12,000 barrels per day during the fourth quarter of last year.

The company also announced SBR’s provisional Low Carbon Fuel Standard application to the California Air Resources Board was approved. The facility is now benefiting from a provisional carbon intensity (CI) score that reflects the lower-CI feedstocks being processed. PBF Energy said the provisional CI score will result in improved project economics related to the California market.