Big Oil Flex’s into Renewable Diesel  

Renewable diesel has been a quiet market, flying a little under the radar in recent years. There was one oil major dabbling in the market, BP in Washington State. Another major, Valero, has been a major player with its joint venture operation (Diamond Green) with Darling, and Neste has been a market leader out of Singapore establishing a major foothold on the West Coast. Neste and Diamond Green have been expanding rapidly in an effort to take advantage of favorable market conditions.

The US renewable diesel market is transforming.  Domestic producers Diamond Green and REG had occupied most of the domestic capacity in recent years, accounting for about 350 million gallons per year.  Alt Air, Sinclair, and BP have recently moved into the arena, bringing an additional 180 million gallons of capacity.  Alt Air is currently looking to increase their presence from 40 mmgy to…