Exxon Mobil Corp. acquired a 49.9% stake in Norwegian biofuels company Biojet AS, as it looks to strengthen its low-carbon business to aide its targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the company said Jan. 11.

Biojet plans to develop up to five facilities to produce biofuels from forestry and wood-based construction waste, and expects commercial production to begin in 2025 at a manufacturing plant to be built in Follum, Norway.

Exxon said the deal, the financial details of which it refused to disclose, will allow it to purchase as much as 3 million barrels of Biojet's biofuels per year, based on the potential capacity of five facilities. Biofuels can be used in passenger vehicles and heavy trucks.

Biofuels and biofuel components can meet the requirements for advanced fuels under Norwegian, European Union and United Kingdom regulations. According to the European Union Renewable Energy Directive, biofuels produced from wood waste can help reduce life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions by 85% compared to petroleum-based diesel.

Exxon Mobil’s majority-owned affiliate, Imperial Oil Ltd., is moving forward with plans to produce renewable diesel at a new complex at its Strathcona refinery, and ExxonMobil expanded its agreement to annually purchase up to 5 million barrels of renewable diesel from Global Clean Energy’s biorefinery in California. Chemically similar to petroleum-based diesel, renewable diesel and other biofuels can be readily blended for use in engines on the market today.

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