Based on the capability of operational conversion, Neste, oil refining and marketing company, has initiated a strategic study on the transition of the refinery in Porvoo, a city in Finland to non-refining of crude oil and a globally leading renewable and circular solution site.
By benefiting from the available refining assets, experience and know how through co-processing and retrofitting of units, Neste aims to significantly increase its renewable and circular production at Porvoo in the long term.
The conversion under study begins with the co-processing of renewable and circular feedstock and can continue with the retrofitting of existing units at a later stage, with a long-term capacity of 2 to 4 million tons per year. The targeted transition will phase out crude oil refining at Porvoo in the mid-2030s. Neste will continue to actively study the potential of green hydrogen at its Porvoo refinery.
Neste’s growth strategy is centered on renewable and circular solutions. We continue to set our ambition level high, launching this study on the long-term transformation path for our Porvoo refinery and targeting to ultimately replace crude oil with alternative feedstocks. The Porvoo site provides a flexible and large-scale base that can grow into a major site for our renewables and circular business.
Mr. Matti Lehmus, President and CEO of Neste remarked about the initiative.
A transformation of such scale will create the need for significant investments in the coming decade. Specific investment decisions are made as planning progresses. As the duration of the project is over a decade, it is built on modularity and flexibility, and can be adjusted to reflect variations in the pace of change in renewable and circular businesses and traditional refining.
Independent of the planned transition, Neste will continue to provide its customers with access to fossil fuel products. Two-thirds of Neste’s crude oil feedstock was Russian oil, but in February 2022 the refiner switched to North Sea oil days after Russia invaded Ukraine.