Eni breaks ground on Malaysia SAF Site

Italian energy major Eni broke ground on the Pengerang Biorefinery, a joint venture between PETRONAS, Enilive and Euglena, in Pengerang, Johor, Malaysia.

The site will process up to 650,000 tonnes of renewable feedstock annually and is projected to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) and bio-naphtha.

The project will process waste feedstocks such as used vegetable oils and animal fats, and residues from the processing of vegetable oils.

The new facility is targeted to commence operations by the second half of 2028 in line with the schedule.

“With Enilive’s biorefineries that are already operational in Italy and in the United States of America, and with new plants under construction in Italy and South Korea, the new biorefinery in Pengerang is a further and relevant step forward towards the achievement of a production capacity over 5m tons per year and over 2m tons of SAF by 2030,” said Enilive’s CEO, Stefano Ballista.

The plant, with its strategic location at the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) in Johor,  will benefit from the geographical advantage and access to major international shipping lanes.

“Leveraging the synergy and strength of our partnership, the new biorefinery is one of PETRONAS’ key initiatives to deliver on our energy transition strategy through a holistic bio-based value chain and an expanded suite of cleaner energy solutions,” said PETRONAS executive vice president and downstream CEO, Datuk Sazali Hamzah.

Earlier in July, the three firms – Enilive, PETRONAS and Euglena announced that they had reached the final investment decision (FID) for the biorefinery.