Vertex Energy Inc., a leading specialty refiner and marketer of high-quality refined products, on April 4 announced the successful mechanical completion of its transformational renewable diesel unit at the company's Mobile, Alabama, refining facility.

Mechanical completion of the renewable diesel unit has been successfully achieved. As the project team proceeds with commissioning the system and preparing for expected start-up, they will address remaining closeout steps typical of finalization and startup processes for turnaround projects. In anticipation of the planned production and forthcoming Phase II, which focuses on increasing renewable diesel production, the Company announced that additional hydrogen production infrastructure and equipment has also arrived on-site, in line with the project schedule.

The company anticipates total capital expenditures to be within the range of $110 to $115 million, in line with the currently established target budget. The Company plans to begin production of its initial volumes of renewable diesel fuel in the coming weeks, in-line with prior expected timelines.

“The unwavering commitment to excellence and expertise of both our project team and contractors has resulted in logging over 400,000 work-hours with zero OSHA recordables,” stated James Rhame, chief operating officer of the company, who continued, "The achievement of this milestone on schedule, within our targeted budget, and with little to no disruption to ongoing daily site operations underscores our dedication to maintaining the highest safety and operating standards at every stage of the project. I am very proud of our employees and contractors, whose collective efforts made the construction phase of this project such a success.”

Benjamin Cowart, CEO of Vertex, commented, “Today marks a major milestone in our continued growth strategy. As we embark on the commissioning phase of this project, we are excited to offer fuel options that not only cater to current energy needs, promoting energy security and stability, but also contribute to a greener future by reducing carbon impacts and promoting environmentally sustainable alternatives. I would like to personally thank the hundreds of women and men, our employees, contractors and suppliers, whose collective hard work, cooperation and commitment to safety made this possible.”

Vertex expresses its gratitude to all contract partners for their contribution to the engineering and construction of the renewable diesel project.