ADM, Marathon Start Up Soybean Plant to Produce Renewable Diesel Feedstock

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) (ADM) (Chicago, Illinois) and Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) (Findlay, Ohio) on Tuesday held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for their joint-venture soybean processing plant that will exclusively supply Marathon with feedstock for renewable diesel.

The $350 million Green Bison soybean processing plant in Spiritwood, North Dakota has a processing capacity of 150,000 bushels of soybeans per day, to produce approximately 600 million pounds of refined soybean oil annually--enough feedstock for approximately 75 million gallons of renewable diesel per year, according to a press release. The plant began receiving soybeans in September and is in the commissioning phase for the startup of processing soybeans for meal and oil, the companies said.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Food & Beverage Project and Plant databases can click here for a detailed project report and here for a plant profile.

The plant will supply feedstock for Marathon's renewable diesel plant in Dickinson, North Dakota, which features a production capacity of 184 million gallons per year, according to the company's third-quarter earnings presentation. Subscribers to the GMI Alternative Fuel Plant Database can click here to read more information on the plant.

In another effort to boost its renewable diesel production, Marathon is in the process of converting its Martinez Refinery near San Francisco, California into a combined oil terminal and renewable diesel plant capable of producing 730 million gallons annually; full production is expected to begin by the end of the year. A $550 million Phase 1 wrapped up earlier this year, and the $700 million phases II and III will bring the facility to its full capacity. The project is a 50:50 joint venture with Neste Corporation (Espoo, Finland). Subscribers to the Alternative Fuel Project Database can click here to read the project reports.

However, ADM-Marathon is not the only U.S. soybean-to-renewable fuel joint venture. Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) (Chesterfield, Missouri) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California) will develop feedstock for Chevron's renewable fuel production.

Bunge plans to provide feedstock from its soybean-processing facilities in Destrehan, Louisiana, and Cairo, Illinois, and Chevron will contribute $600 million in cash toward projects at both facilities.

The Destrehan and Cairo facilities have a processing capacity of 6.2 million bushels per year and 5.3 million bushels per year, respectively, and Industrial Info is tracking a project at each facility aimed at doubling its capacity: $200 million in equipment upgrades at the Cairo plant kicked off in June, with completion expected in 2025; a $400 million expansion of the Destrehan plant involves constructing additional structures, among other work, and construction is expected to kick off in mid-2024. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Cairo and Destrehan projects.

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Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).