P66, Marathon RD conversions clear California hurdle

P66, Marathon RD conversions clear California hurdle

Houston, 4 May (Argus) — Northern California regulators cleared Phillips 66 and Marathon Petroleum to proceed with converting their petroleum refineries into the two largest US renewable diesel (RD) production facilities, dismissing appeals from environmental campaigners seeking to slow the projects.

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors yesterday voted unanimously to authorize land use permits allowing Phillips 66 to convert its 120,000 b/d Rodeo refinery near San Francisco into a 67,000 b/d renewable diesel facility. The regulators also unanimously approved a permit allowing Marathon Petroleum to convert its idled Martinez refinery into a 48,000 b/d renewable diesel facility by 2023.

Environmental justice groups the Natural Resources Defense Council and Communities for a Better Environment earlier this year appealed to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors to send the projects' environmental impact reports back to the county's planning commission for more scrutiny.

Environmental campaigners in California have persisted in calling for regulators to impose stricter requirements on the renewable diesel conversions, citing concerns over local community impacts, renewable fuel production hazards and deforestation concerns associated with the harvesting of soybeans, a key feedstock.

But state and county officials have continued to support the companies' visions for the projects, which would create the largest