OREANDA-NEWS. October 14, 2014. Technology, engineering and project management company Neste Jacobs has been chosen as the EPCM contractor to design and implement the new biopropane production process at Neste Oil's Rotterdam refinery.

Neste Oil and Neste Jacobs have in cooperation developed the new production process, which enables the separation of biopropane from the sidestream gases of the NEXBTL process. This will add value to the existing production process by adding a new renewable product to Neste Oil's product portfolio. When the new unit is complete, biopropane production is expected to total 30,000-40,000 t/a.

The investment includes storage tanks and interconnecting pipework in addition to the production unit itself. The project will start immediately and be ready for production before end of 2016. The total value of the investment is approximately EUR 60 million. Neste Jacobs carries out the project from its offices in Finland and the Netherlands in cooperation with its local partners.

"We are very proud to be the EPCM contractor for Neste Oil in this important investment", says Jarmo Suominen, Managing Director of Neste Jacobs. "We are aiming to be the preferred solution provider for the biorefining industry and this project now awarded to us strengthens this position very well."

"We have several good experiences of Neste Jacobs' capability to carry out large EPCM projects with high quality and all the way with good success. That is why we chose Neste Jacobs to carry out this significant project", says Kaisa Hietala, Executive Vice President, Renewable Products of Neste Oil. "During the recent years, Neste Jacobs, operating also from its Rotterdam office, has gained a lot of positive feedback in serving the local industry. Also in that respect our choice for the contractor is Neste Jacobs", adds Bart Leenders, Managing Director of Neste Oil Netherlands.