Argus Media Limited

09/07/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 09/07/2021 01:36

BP eyes green hydrogen hub at Australian refinery

BP will undertake a feasibility study into the production of hydrogen from renewable sources at its former 146,000 b/d Kwinana refinery, south of Perth in Western Australia (WA) that was closed earlier this year.

The refinery had closed in partnership with Australian bank Macquarie as part of a broader plan for the site to become an oil products import terminal.

BP also plans to develop a renewable fuels plant at the Kwinana site through the production of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel, it said. But BP provided no details on what sustainable aviation fuel or renewable diesel will be made from.

The Kwinana industrial area is the largest industrial cluster in WA with more than 150 products, by-products and utilities exchanged among facilities such as mineral refineries, power stations, chemical plants and cement works in the region, BP Australia president Frédéric Baudry said in a statement. The hydrogen feasibility study will help progress the decarbonisation of industrial processes by integrating green energy alternatives for these existing industrial uses, Baudry said.

BP's feasibility study also included funding from the WA state government.

BP said in August that it was planning further work on developing a pilot plant in Australia to produce 4,000 t/yr of hydrogen and up to 20,000 t/yr of ammonia. Macquarie both finances energy projects as well as owns the Green Investment Group that provides financing to renewable energy projects.

By Kevin Morrison