Seminar 5- Natural Resources and Agricultural in Southeastern New Mexico

Artesia and Clovis, NM | April 10-12, 2024





















What is HF Sinclair?

At certain gas stations, there are green dinosaur figures in front of them, also known as Dino Marts. Ever wonder about that green dinosaur? Wonders never cease to amaze that there is a production story about that green dinosaur. The green dinosaur represents an energy company fueling America. The interesting concept is that it is part of the agricultural cycle of how to produce energy. This is what New Mexico Agriculture Leadership (NMAL) Class 16 learned. They visited the HP Sinclair Pre-Treatment Unit (PTU) and the Renewable Diesel Unit (RDU) in Artesia, NM on April 11, 2024. Upon arrival, on the outside, we first drove through the PTU and RDU facilities, then toured the inside of each unit. We saw parked trains being connected to the export of the products from the facilities and many high-tech equipment (See photos). For safety precautions, we signed in and put on hard hats. We also got to check out the control room and the small labs.

According to HF Sinclair’s website, “the PTU provides feedstock flexibility, mitigating single feedstock risk and generating value through the use of lower priced unrefined soybean oil and lower carbon intensity waste feedstock such as animal fats and distillers corn oil. The 9,000 barrels-per-day RDU upgrades the renewable feedstock refined by the PTU into a hydrocarbon, high-value renewable diesel that has 50% to 80% less net greenhouse gas emissions and is chemically equivalent to petroleum diesel.”

How is this energy produced? During the tour, it was well explained by two HF Sinclair employees. We started at the bottom of the facilities and toured our way up to the cooling towers. The best way to explain the facilities is the recyclables are imported into the facilities, go through high-tech equipment to be processed, and then export a fuel (energy) product. With any kind of operation, there must be water, which is a major player in the agricultural community. The HF Sinclair facilities are tapped into the City of Artesia’s Wastewater Treatment Plant. According to the employees, they said, “It is a million-dollar machine”. After the tour, we saw the final renewable products on the table. They make tallow, DCO, and Canola oil (fuels). Class 16 received gifts from HF Sinclair. This was a great learning experience!


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