Calumet's Montana Renewables sees RD output after turnaround ends in September

Calumet Specialty Partners expects renewable production from its Montana Renewables facility in Great Falls, Montana, to begin within 60 to 70 days, CEO Todd Borgmann said on Aug. 5.

A planned turnaround underway as of Aug. 5 to change out the hydrocracker catalyst will enable the facility to produce renewable diesel when it restarts in September, said Borgmann on the second-quarter results call.

"And when we come back up we will have both the highly profitable specialty asphalt and ...a leading renewable diesel systems," he added.

The 28,000 b/d refinery, which will also continue to run hydrocarbons, will have the ability to produce 12,000 b/d of renewables when it reaches full run rates.

The second tranche of work at Montana Renewables will be bringing the hydrogen plant online, which is expected "plus or minus November" which will "unlock the full run rate," said Fleming.

The third and final piece of the project will be completion of a pretreatment unit, which increases the optionality of feedstock for the plant, and is expected to start up "after the first of the year."

Montana Renewables also inked production supply deals with Chevron Renewables, Phillips 66, and a "super-major" which was not identified, said Bruce Fleming, head of Montana Renewables on the Q2 results call.

In June, Montana Renewables said it had signed 10,000 b/d of supply contracts of renewable fuels comprised of 8,000 b/d of RD and 2,000 b/d of SAF, all headed for Canada's West Coast ahead of that country's 2023 Clean Fuel Standard.

Initially, Montana Renewables' Fleming can recover about 2,000 b/d of SAF from the RD stream, which will be blended with hydrocarbons to meet the specification needed by airlines.

Montana Renewables can increase SAF output depending on economic signals, including the passage of a $1.75/gal tax credit proposed and under consideration through the

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. (opens in a new tab)

However, Borgmann said SAF production could be increased to 15,000 b/d within a few years if demand continue to grow, thanks in part to the $600 million in capitalization financing announced Aug. 5 from Warburg Pincus and Stonebriar, which could fund any expansion.