It’s been a rough road, but Braya Renewable Fuels has achieved commercial operation.

The company has converted the old Come By Chance oil refinery to producing renewal diesel.

Work has been ongoing since Cresta Fund Management acquired majority ownership of the refinery from Silverpeak back in 2021 and rebranded as Braya.

Conversion operations hit a tragic setback with a flash fire in September of 2022 that claimed one worker’s life and sent seven others to hospital, some with serious injuries.

CEO Todd O’Malley acknowledges, it’s been tough getting to this stage.

“You know obviously we had a very difficult time for the refinery staff and their families around the…flash fire…but our job is to run the plant safely reliably and environmentally responsibly.”

O’Malley says feedstock was fed into the system last week for the first time “…and ultimately we have produced on spec renewable diesel.” He calls it a momentous day for the company and its hard-working employees.

The company expects initial production capacity of 18,000 barrels per day.