Italian oil and gas company Eni is moving forward with plans to convert some units at its Sannazzaro de’ Burgondi refinery in Italy into a biorefinery.
The final investment decision on the refinery in Pavia, Lombardy, followed a previous announcement by the company that as part of a joint venture with Q8 Italy – the international arm of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation – it would be constructing a biorefinery in Priolo, Sicily.
Both projects represented a significant step forward in developing the biofuel production capacity of Eni’s biofuels arm Enilive, the company said on 25 February.
First announced by Eni in October 2024, the plan for the Priolo site would support the company’s aim of increasing its biorefining capacity from the current 1.65M tonnes/year to over 3M tonnes/year in 2028 and 5M tonnes/year by 2030, with the potential to produce up to 2M tonnes/year of SAF by 2030.
Both biorefineries were scheduled to be completed by 2028 and would offer flexibility to produce hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The new biorefinery in Sannazzaro de’ Burgondi, which would have the capacity to produce 550,000 tonnes/year of SAF or HVO, would not affect the plant’s existing traditional fuels production capacity, Eni said.
As part of the project, the hydrocracker (HDC2) unit would be converted using Eni’s Ecofining technology – developed in conjunction with Honeywell UOP to convert waste, residues and vegetable oils into biofuels that could be used in 100% pure form – and a pre-treatment unit for waste and residues would be constructed.
The company said preparatory activities were underway ahead of the award of procurement and construction contracts for new units at the Priolo biorefinery, which would have a capacity of 500,000 tonnes/year of HVO or SAF.
According to its website, Eni is active in the natural gas and oil sectors, as well as the co-generated electricity and renewables sectors. It operates in the domestic and international market, as well as through a wide range of subsidiaries and affiliates, including Enilive.
Through Enilive, Eni is a leading HVO producer in Europe and globally.
