Marathon Petroleum Corp. released fourth quarter financial results on Feb. 4, reporting a profitable three-month period for its newly formed renewable diesel segment. Improved earnings are attributed to increased capacity utilization.
Marathon during the fourth quarter established a renewable diesel segment, which now includes renewable diesel activities and assets historically reported as part of the company’s refining and marketing segment. The renewable diesel segment includes Marathon’s wholly owned biorefinery in Dickison, North Dakota, which has the capacity to produce 184 MMgy of renewable diesel and the California-based Martinez Renewable Fuels facility, a 50/50 joint venture with Neste Corp. that features feedstock pretreatment capabilities and has the capacity to produce 730 MMgy of renewable diesel. The segment also includes other renewable diesel activities and assets, such as a feedstock aggregation facility, pretreatment facility, and an interest in the North Dakota-based Spiritwood soybean processing complex, which is a joint venture with ADM.
The renewable diesel segment reported adjusted EBITDA of $28 million for the fourth quarter, compared to a $47 million loss reported for the same period of 2023. The company primarily attributed the improvement to increased utilization, particularly at the Martinez facility.
For the full year 2024, adjusted EBITDA for the renewable diesel segment was a $150 million loss, compared to a $64 million loss reported for the previous year.
Rick Hessling, chief commercial officer at Marathon, said the company expects positive EBITDA for the renewable diesel segment to continue into 2025. He said the company has a good, stable environment and a great team executing its feedstock and product distribution efforts. He also noted there is a lot of uncertainty around implementation of the 45Z clean fuel production credit, but stressed the company is controlling what it can by using advantaged feedstocks with low carbon intensity (CI) and targeting the highest margin markets.
