Kwinana refinery spearheads bp’s expansion into biofuels

bp’s Kwinana refinery is spearheading the company’s expansion of its biofuels business, as West Australian Deputy Premier, the Hon Roger Cook, marks the start of its transition into one of the region’s largest sustainable fuel hubs. 

Kwinana, near Fremantle, was the largest oil refinery in Australia, with a capacity of 138,000 barrels per day, before it was closed by bp in March 2021 to be converted to an import-only terminal.

Today, Kwinana is one of five biofuel projects that bp has planned globally. It is expected that these projects will produce around 50 thousand barrels of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil, also known as renewable diesel) per day by 2030.

The Kwinana Renewable Fuels project is part of the global multi-billion dollar investment by bp and will see existing refining infrastructure repurposed to produce drop-in fuel products that have the ability over time to support the decarbonisation of aviation and heavy industry, subject to regulatory and state government approvals. 

The biorefinery is planned to produce SAF and biodiesel from bio feedstocks by 2026. It will also integrate with the site’s existing import terminal operations and plans for green hydrogen production, which is currently being assessed in a feasibility study.

“Kwinana illustrates the power of the Australian economy and its ability to reinvent itself for the energy transition. This project is the first of its kind globally for bp and a first for Australia. It recognises the importance of our Kwinana site and Western Australia in the energy transition, so we’re thrilled to say bp is progressing with engineering plans for Kwinana,” said Frédéric Baudry, president, bp Australia and SVP fuels & low carbon solutions, Asia Pacific.

“bp has established global biogas and biofuel businesses that are positioned in an increasingly supportive environment of rapidly growing demand.”

“We plan to integrate the sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel with our current terminal operations, and our future potential green hydrogen project – H2Kwinana.”

As the world seeks lower carbon fuels, bp sees clear opportunities to leverage its portfolio of assets and customer base—with bioenergy one of bp’s transition growth engines. This includes biofuels, sustainable aviation fuel, and biogas.