MITCHELL, SOUTH DAKOTA, US — A new multiseed processing facility being built by South Dakota Soybean Processors (SDSP) will be jointly owned by High Plains Partners LLC and BP Products North America Inc., a subsidiary of global energy firm BP PLC.

The partnership was announced during a Sept. 19 private groundbreaking ceremony for the facility near Mitchell, South Dakota, US, attended by nearly 300 people. Plans by SDSP to build the $500 million facility through its subsidiary High Plains Processing LLC were first announced in February 2022. Situated on the BNSF railway, this will be the third soybean processing plant built by SDSP, which also has facilities in Volga and Miller, South Dakota.

“We are excited to have BP, one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, as a strategic partner in this new venture,” said Tom Kersting, chief executive officer of SDSP. “The investment by BP further strengthens our business plan by providing direct access and vision into the rapidly growing renewable fuels market.”

The facility is expected to be operational in 2025 and will have the capacity to process 35 million bushels of soybeans annually, or the equivalent of 1 million tonnes of crops with high oil content. Storage volume for the High Plains Processing facility will be 4 million bushels of soybeans/high-oil content seeds, 8,000 tonnes of meal/hulls, 12.3 million gallons of crude oil, and 3.52 million gallons of refined oil.

“BP is developing high-value, lower carbon-intensity feedstocks for our biofuels business in service of our ambitious plans to grow production to 100,000 barrels a day by 2030,” said Nigel Dunn, senior vice president of biofuels growth at BP. “We are delighted to be working together with High Plains Processing in this multiseed crush plant, which will form part of our competitively positioned supply chain.”