The owner of a small crude oil refinery in North Dakota is seeking to convert the facility to process vegetable oil into renewable diesel instead of continuing to make petroleum, reports The Bismarck Tribune.
The Andeavor Dickinson Refinery applied for an air quality permit from the state Department of Health to process locally produced soybean oil and other renewable feedstock. The refinery plans to export the renewable diesel to California, where it's in high demand.
The renewable diesel plant would be a first-of-its-kind facility for North Dakota as well as Andeavor.
The proposal builds on a pilot project at the refinery that processes vegetable oil and Bakken crude to create a 5% renewable diesel blend, said Destin Singleton, an Andeavor spokeswoman.
