Finnish renewable fuels producer Neste shut down its Rotterdam refinery following a fire and lowered its renewable products and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) sales volume figures for this year.
No one was injured in the 8 November incident at the refinery in the Maasvlakte area, at the Port of Rotterdam, Neste said on the same day.
At the time of the announcement, the company said the incident was being investigated with repair work scheduled to start as soon as possible.
Based on its initial assessment, Neste said production at the Rotterdam refinery production would be down for several weeks, impacting renewable diesel customer deliveries.
As a result, Neste said it had changed its renewable products total sales volume guidance for 2024.
In its revised 2024 guidance, total sales volumes of renewable products were expected to increase from 2023 to reach approximately 3.7M tonnes (+/- 5%) in 2024, including SAF sales of 0.35M-0.55M tonnes.
Renewable products’ full-year 2024 average comparable sales margin was expected to be in the range of US$360-US$480/tonne, the company said.
In its previous guidance for 2024, the company said it expected total renewable product sales to reach approximately 3.9M tonnes (+/- 5%), which included SAF sales volume of 0.35M-0.55M tonnes.
Neste said the incident had not affected its ongoing Rotterdam refinery expansion project.
The Rotterdam refinery’s current 1.4M tonne capacity for renewable products is the largest in Europe, according to the company’s website.
Neste said the €1.9bn (US$2bn) Rotterdam expansion project would increase the company’s total renewable product capacity by 1.3M tonnes/year, bringing total renewable product capacity in Rotterdam to 2.7M tonnes/year, which would include SAF production of 1.2M tonnes.
The company said its target was to start up the new production unit in 2026.
Neste also has two refineries in Porvoo, Finland, and in Tuas, Singapore.
