Neste to transform refinery to keep pace with energy transition

Finland's Neste is planning to transform its Porvoo refinery into a facility for co-processing renewable and circular fuels. The company is also exploring closing refinery operations in Naantali and refocusing the site on terminal and harbour operations. The plans are in line with the global shift toward renewables, and achieving the company’s 2035 carbon neutral production target, CEO Peter Vanacker said. The energy transition is happening sooner than expected, prompting a review of refinery operations, he added.

Neste pledges to restructure its refinery operations in Finland

Neste is planning to restructure its refinery operations in Porvoo and Naantali in Finland.

The company is exploring the shutdown of its refinery operations in Naantali and focusing the Naantali site on the terminal and harbour operations, as well as transforming the Porvoo refinery operations to co-processing renewable and circular raw materials.

The sustainable solutions company said the demand for fossil oil products would continue to decline and the share of renewable energy solutions would continue to grow in the coming years and fundamental changes were needed to secure the competitiveness of Neste’s business.

Neste’s president and CEO Peter Vanacker said: “The energy transition is proceeding faster than expected. The forthcoming operating and maintenance investments in the Naantali refinery are not viable nor sustainable in a situation where there is large over-capacity for oil refining globally. “Although the time is not optimal, and this news is unfortunate for many of us, the planned actions to develop our refinery operations are urgently needed to maintain operations and strategic capabilities in refining in Finland and to secure Oil Products’ competitiveness.”

The plans would mean up to 470 redundancies, including possible outsourcing. The planned changes are expected to result in annual fixed cost savings of about €50 million.

“Neste’s ambition is to become a global leader in renewable and circular solutions, and to achieve carbon neutral production by 2035. The planned changes will support the transformation of the Porvoo refinery into a leading sustainable, safe and efficient refinery, enabled by our highly innovative and efficient Neste people,” Vanacker added.