Ampol and Eneos Ink Deal to Explore Advanced Biofuels Production in Queensland

Australian petroleum company Ampol and Japan’s largest oil firm Eneos have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the production of advanced biofuels at the Lytton refinery in Brisbane, Australia.

The parties have also executed a separate MoU with the Queensland Government and will continue to engage with the state as work progresses to discuss investment and project development as part of the Queensland Biofutures 10-Year Roadmap.

Ampol and Eneos will jointly explore the feasibility of delivering an advanced biofuel manufacturing facility with the capacity to generate up to 500 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel annually.

Initial work will consider the use of agricultural, animal and other waste feedstocks prevalent in the Queensland market and seek to leverage the use of existing refinery manufacturing and distribution infrastructure to produce biofuels for domestic use and for the export market where possible. 

The project will leverage each company’s strengths, bringing Ampol’s existing refining and distribution infrastructure and knowledge about Australia’s aviation and broader transport fuels market, together with Eneos’ expertise in refining technology, energy transition and leadership in the Japanese aviation and broader transport fuels market.

Ampol’s Managing Director and CEO, Matt Halliday, said: "Biofuels and synthetic fuels have an important role to play in energy transition, particularly in hard-to-abate areas such as aviation and heavy industrial sectors like mining. These are important market segments for Ampol. As we continue our work to build new solutions for customers, we are excited to partner with a global leader like Eneos to further assess opportunities to repurpose our existing infrastructure and build new supply chains."

Initial work on the project will include exploring potential counterparties in Queensland to provide feedstock and demand for product offtake. Ampol and Eneos will also work with the Queensland Government as part of its strategy to attract clean energy investment.

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