TotalEnergies, Eneos delay SAF output in Japan to 2026

French firm TotalEnergies and Japanese refiner Eneos have pushed back their sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production target in Japan to 2026 from 2025.

The companies have also changed the SAF output plant in their feasibility study to Eneos' 120,400 b/d Wakayama refinery in Japan's western Wakayama prefecture, instead of the original 150,000 b/d Negishi refinery in the Tokyo bay area. The decision was made after assessing the most effective method to utilise existing facilities, along with other conditions, the companies said.

The proposed SAF production capacity of 300,000 t/yr will mainly process used cooking oil and animal fats as feedstock, unchanged from the original plan. The companies also plan to establish a new joint venture to produce SAF.

Eneos has been tapping into the decarbonisation businesses — including SAF — by using existing facilities at their refineries to cope with shrinking oil product demand in the country. It has also separately formed a partnership with domestic trading house Mitsubishi to look into developing SAF businesses in the country.

Eneos scrapped its 120,000 b/d No.1 crude distillation unit (CDU) at the Negishi plant around late September this year. The firm had operated two CDUs at the plant with a total capacity of 270,000 b/d until then.

The company has also reduced its refining capacity at the Wakayama refinery by 7,100 b/d to 120,400 b/d, with plans to permanently close the plant by October 2023.

Japan is targeting the use of 10pc SAF in its domestic airlines by 2030. Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism estimates the country's SAF demand to reach 2.5mn-5.6mn kl/yr by 2030 and 23mn kl/yr by 2050.

By Maiko Nakashima