March 4, 2022 [OILS & FATS INTERNATIONAL] – Leading US energy infrastructure company Kinder Morgan (KMI) has announced it is set to build a new renewable diesel hub in Southern California.

The hub will enable customers to aggregate renewable diesel batches (R99) in the Los Angeles area and move them on the SFPP pipeline system to high demand markets in Colton (inland Empire) and Mission Valley (San Diego), California, creating up to 20,000 barrels/day of blended diesel truck throughput capacity, with the ability to expand in the future, according to the 7 February statement.

Upon completion, the Southern California hub would be the first of its kind in the USA to transport batches of renewable diesel by pipeline to transmix – a process designed to enable customers to avoid the loss of the California renewable tax credits, including the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credits, KMI said.

KMI also recently announced the development of a Northern Carolina renewable diesel hub with both plants due to become operational in the first quarter of 2023.

“As refineries are converting to renewable diesel, we believe this is an attractive opportunity to pivot to the energy fuels of the future,” KMI’s president of Products Pipelines Dax Sanders said.

The Southern California hub would comprise three components, KMI said. At the Carson Terminal in the Port of Los Angeles, KMI is creating community renewable storage capacity with connectivity to both the SFPP pipeline system and the Carson Terminal truck rack. Modifications at the Colton Terminal will create a new dedicated renewable diesel terminal, with the renewable diesel delivered by the existing SFPP pipeline segment from Watson to Colton. Storage and truck rack capacity at KMI’s Mission Valley Terminal will be adapted to enable up to 5,000 barrels/day of renewable diesel throughput.

One of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America, KMI specialises in owning and controlling oil and gas pipelines and terminals and it owns an interest in, or operates, approximately 133,575km of pipelines and 143 terminals, according to the press release.

The company’s pipelines transport natural gas, refined petroleum products, crude oil, condensate, CO2 and other products, while its terminals store and handle various commodities including gasoline, diesel fuel, chemicals, ethanol, metals and petroleum coke.

Pro Trial: Access 10,390 Tank Terminal and Production Facilities
10,390 tank storage and production facilities as per the date of this article. Click on the button and register to get instant access to actionable tank storage industry data