Stone Oil to supply renewable diesel in US Gulf Coast

US-based marine fuel supplier John W Stone Oil Distributor has started supplying renewable diesel to vessels in the US Gulf Coast region.

PHOTO: Aerial view of the Port of New Orleans, Louisiana. Getty Images

The renewable diesel will currently be based on soy oil and used cooking oil (UCO) blended with either VLSFO or LSMGO, Stone Oil’s chief operating officer Anthony (Tony) Odak tells ENGINE.

Tallow, or animal fats, will be also used for blending in the near term, in addition to soy oil and UCO, before Stone eventually will be moving to complete waste oil-based feedstocks in the future. Currently, enquiries have been for blends made up of 20-30% renewable content rest blended with either VLSFO or LSMGO, Odak adds. Blending proportions can be modified based on customer requests.

“Deliveries at this time will be done via barge and ex-pipe. With one of the largest bunkering barge fleets in the industry, we will expect that most deliveries will be by barge but do have a truck fleet to accommodate as needed,” he says.

Stone Oil has committed to a 100,000-bbl storage tank in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, and an 85,000-bbl tank in Gretna, close to New Orleans. These locations will be used for ex-pipe deliveries and as storage and distribution hubs for Stone Oil's barge delivery fleet, Odak says.

The company intends to expand its renewable diesel offerings to other parts of the US as demand grows. Odak thinks that the recent MEPC 80 outcomes will help boost renewable diesel demand from ocean-going vessels in the future.

The IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) adopted a new GHG strategy last Friday with the ambition of achieving net zero GHG emissions "by or around" 2050. The revised strategy also includes a 20% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 (striving for 30%), and 70% cuts by 2040 (striving for 80%).

By Nithin Chandran

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