Eni signs agreement with Saipem to develop new SAF, renewable diesel production facilities

From left, Giuseppe Ricci, chief operating officer for Energy Evolution at Eni, and Alessandro Puliti, CEO of Saipem (Photo: Eni)

Two Italian firms, the petroleum and biobased diesel refiner Eni and oil-and-gas contractor Saipem, signed an agreement Nov. 6 to develop new biorefineries for the production of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The collaboration will support the transformation path of traditional refineries and the development of new Eni biorefineries.

The agreement is in line with the decarbonization goals of Eni and Saipem, and it focuses on the study for and subsequent potential construction of plants for the production of SAF and renewable diesel, also referred to as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).

HVO is on sale at Enilive service stations under the name HVOlution and can be used across road, naval and rail transport.

The agreement involves the application of Eni’s proprietary Ecofining™ technology for both the development of new biorefineries and the conversion of traditional refineries, combining Eni’s extensive technological and operational experience with Saipem’s distinctive expertise in the design and construction of this type of plant.

Eni was the first company in the world to convert two traditional refineries into biorefineries, in Venice Porto Marghera, Italy, and Gela, Sicily, for the processing of waste feedstocks such as used cooking oil, animal fats, agro-food industry residues and vegetable oils using Ecofining™ technology.

Saipem provided support on both projects.

Eni plans to expand its biorefining capacity from the current 1.65 million tons per year (tpy) to over 5 million tpy by 2030.