We won’t be able to rely upon fossil fuels forever. That’s the message that experts have been communicating for decades now. And it’s true. Fossil fuels are non-renewable, and they will run out at some point. That’s why many oil and gas companies have made major investments into research and development targeted at developing new renewable alternative fuels.

According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, author Yusuf Khan reports that “[w]aste biomass made from sugar cane is set to power the next generation of sustainable aviation fuels, with a new $4 billion plant scheduled to be built in the farmlands of Louisiana.” Who’s behind this bold plan to convert sugar cane waste into fuel?

Khan notes that “[r]enewable hydrogen producer DG Fuels, energy giant BP and chemicals maker Johnson Matthey plan to produce 180 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, a year in St. James Parish, Louisiana—enough for 30,000 trans-Atlantic flights annually.” The process is far from an easy one, however.

Sugar cane waste is used to create carbon monoxide, which is then “combined with blue hydrogen to create a mixture called syngas.” Syngas “can then be used to make a form of low-carbon kerosene through Johnson Matthey and BP’s proprietary technology, known as Fischer Tropsch CANS.” The resulting SAF will help aviation companies reduce their carbon footprint, since it produces substantially less carbon dioxide than traditional fuels.

Currently, “[a]viation accounts for just under 3% of global carbon emissions. As commercial jets are hard to electrify, the industry is looking at greener fuel sources to decarbonize.” Khan notes that “[j]ust over 600 million liters of SAF were produced in 2023, representing a minuscule 0.2% of global jet-fuel use… To meet net zero, some 449 billion metric tons of SAF are going to be needed by 2050.”

The Louisiana plant that will use sugar cane waste isn’t the only SAF plant on the horizon. Khan reports that “[s]everal large-scale SAF plants are also set to be built over the next few years, globally. Oil refiner Phillips 66, for example, is hoping to start producing SAF using used cooking oils this year, aiming for 800 million gallons of fuel a year from a site in California.”

As oil and gas companies pivot to producing new renewable fuel alternatives, they will continue to need highly skilled workers to work in these new facilities. Many of the skills workers will need will be similar to those needed to produce traditional fossil fuels. Given the ongoing skills gap across all major industries, oil and gas companies will need to focus on hiring highly skilled workers and training current workers with the skills they need to succeed.

So how do oil and gas companies improve their focus on technical skills? For new and current employees, the answer is technical training. Oil and gas workers need both fundamental knowledge and hands-on technical skills with real industrial equipment they’ll encounter on the job. Be sure to check out Bayport Technical’s wide variety of hands-on oil and gas training systems to take your oil and gas training to the next level!