Neste facts for kids

For other uses, see Neste (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids
Neste Oyj

Neste headquarters in Espoo.
Type	Julkinen osakeyhtiö
Traded as	OMX: NESTE
Industry	Oil and gas industry
Founded	1948; 77 years ago (1948)
Headquarters	Espoo , Finland
Key people	Matti Lehmus (CEO) Matti Kähkönen (Chairman of the Board)
Products	Refined oil products Renewable fuels
Revenue	€15.148 billion (2021)
Operating income	€2.023 billion (2021)
Net income	€1.774 million (2021)
Total assets	€12.417 billion (2021)
Total equity	€6.985 billion (2021)
Number of employees	4,872 (2021)

Neste's logo until 1 April 2015

Neste Oyj is a big company from Espoo, Finland. Its international name is Neste Corporation. The company used to be called Neste Oil Corporation. Neste makes and sells oil products. It also offers engineering services and licenses its special production technologies. Neste works in 14 different countries around the world.

Neste's shares are traded on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Stock Exchange. This means you can buy parts of the company. In 2022, the Prime Minister's Office of Finland owned the biggest part of the company. They owned about 35.91% of the shares.

In 2021, Neste was the third largest company in Finland. This was based on how much money it made. The name "Neste" means "liquid" in the Finnish language.

History of Neste
What Neste Does
- Refining
- Service Stations
Company Information
- Who Owns Neste
- Awards and Recognition
Neste and the Environment
- Climate Goals
- Palm Oil Use
See also

History of Neste

Early Years (1948–1997)

Neste started in 1948 as Finland's state-owned oil company. Its main goal was to make sure Finland had enough fuel. The company's main office was set up in Espoo. At that time, Finland didn't have much experience with the oil industry. So, Neste had to build everything from the ground up.

In 1955, Uolevi Raade became the company's CEO, which is like the main boss. Finland's first oil refinery was built in Naantali in 1957. A refinery is a factory where crude oil is turned into useful products like gasoline. Another refinery was built in Porvoo in 1965. In the beginning, much of the oil came from the Soviet Union. Later, oil from the North Sea was used.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Neste grew to be the biggest company in Finland. Besides refining oil, Neste also started looking for and producing oil and natural gas. It also got into the chemical industry. During the Cold War, Finland bought goods from the Soviet Union. This helped Finland keep its right to sell products to the Soviet Union. Neste refined the Russian oil that Finland imported.

Neste also bought parts of other companies. In 1971, it bought half of Kesoil. In the 1970s, Neste had a large fleet of ships. These ships carried a lot of cargo. Because of Neste's work, the oil crisis in 1973 did not affect Finland much.

In 1976, Finland's first skyscraper was built. It was Neste's 83.6-meter tall headquarters in Keilaniemi, Espoo. It was built there because the city of Helsinki didn't allow such a tall building.

Jaakko Ihamuotila became the CEO in 1980. Neste started its service station business in 1983. Neste had a special right to import oil until the market became more open in the 1990s. By 1990, about half of Neste's business was international oil trade. Oil refining made up a quarter of its business.

After the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, Neste had to find new places to get oil. Neste had built many chemical plants in Europe. But when oil and chemical prices dropped, Neste decided to sell its chemical businesses.

In 1991, Neste became the main owner of Finnoil. Kesoil also became fully owned by Neste. In 1992 and 1993, Union and Finnoil service stations changed their names to Neste stations.

In 1994, Gasum was created. Neste also separated its polyolefin production into a new company called Borealis. Neste later sold its part of Borealis.

From 1994, Neste was the main sponsor of the Finnish Rally competition. It was then called Neste Rally Finland. Neste stopped sponsoring the rally in 2020 after 26 years. In November 1995, Neste's shares were listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.

Neste as part of Fortum (1998–2005)

In 1998, Neste joined with a power company called Imatran Voima Oy. They formed a new company called Fortum Oyj. After this, Neste's chemical businesses were moved to a new company called Neste Chemicals. This company was later sold. In 1998, Kesoil service stations also became Neste stations.

In 2004, Neste Jacobs Oy was created. It was a joint company with Jacobs Engineering from the United States. In May 2004, Fortum Oil and Gas Corporation was split into two parts. The oil business became Fortum Oil Corporation.

Neste Oil (2005–2014)

In 2005, Fortum Oil Corporation became a separate company called Neste Oil Corporation. Neste Oil Corporation was listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange in June 2005. Risto Rinne became the new CEO.

In 2007, Neste built a new plant at the Porvoo refinery. This plant made renewable diesel using a special technology called NEXBTL. This diesel is made from natural materials. In the same year, all the buses in Helsinki started using this special diesel. Tests showed that pollution from the buses went down a lot. A second renewable diesel plant opened in Porvoo in 2009.

Neste started researching algae in 2007 to see if it could be used for fuel. This research stopped in 2015 but started again in 2019. Now, they are looking into making aviation fuel from algae and waste.

Matti Lievonen became CEO in 2008. In November 2010, Neste opened the world's largest renewable diesel plant in Singapore. This plant could make 800,000 tons of fuel each year. It used palm oil and other natural materials. Some groups like Greenpeace were concerned about using palm oil because of its environmental impact. Neste promised to use only palm oil that was produced in a sustainable way. Neste is part of a group called the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). This group works to make sure palm oil is produced responsibly.

In 2011, a similar plant opened in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Neste also worked with Stora Enso to research making renewable diesel from wood. But this project was canceled in 2012.

In April 2013, Neste sold its self-service stations in Poland. In the same month, Neste started working with The Forest Trust (TFT). This group helps fight against deforestation. In 2013, Neste also stopped its shipping business. It sold most of its ships but kept a few. The goal was to make sure Finland's fuel supply was safe.

Neste (2015–2019)

In 2015, the company's name changed from Neste Oil back to Neste. This was to show that the company was focusing more on renewable energy. In 2016, the Neste Oil service stations also shortened their name to Neste. The Neste chain had almost 800 stations in Finland. It also had stations in the Baltic countries and in the Saint Petersburg area in Russia.

In 2017, Neste took full control of Neste Jacobs. It was then renamed Neste Engineering Solutions Oy.

Peter Vanacker became the new CEO in November 2018. In December, Neste announced a big investment of about 1.4 billion euros in Singapore. This would greatly increase its ability to make renewable products there. By 2022, the company expected to make almost 4.5 million tons of renewable products each year.

In February 2019, Neste changed how its renewable products business was organized. It created three main units: Renewable Aviation, Renewable Polymers and Chemicals, and Renewable Road Transportation. In June, Neste and LyondellBasell started making bio-based plastic from renewable materials. In July, Neste sold its service stations in Russia. In 2019, Neste paid the most taxes of any company in Finland.

Recent Developments (2020–Present)

In March 2020, Neste invested in a German company called Sunfire. This company develops new technology for making hydrogen. In September, Neste sold its part of Nynas AB. Also in September, Neste started talks about closing its refinery in Naantali. This was because people were using less fossil fuels, and there was too much oil being produced. The refinery was planned to close by the end of March 2021. Neste wanted to keep its storage and port operations in Naantali. It planned to focus its refinery work in Porvoo.

In October 2020, Neste, Covestro, and Borealis started working together to make polycarbonate plastics. Neste makes special hydrocarbons from renewable materials. These are used to make phenol, which Covestro then uses to make plastics. These plastics are often used for car headlights and window coatings.

In December 2021, CEO Vanacker left Neste. In March 2022, Neste and Marathon Petroleum from the US announced they would work together. They planned to invest about 1,800 million euros to improve Marathon's refinery in Martinez, California. By the end of 2022, this refinery was expected to make about 2.1 million tons of renewable diesel each year. Matti Lehmus became the new CEO in May 2022. He had worked at Neste since 1998.

What Neste Does

Neste's work is split into different parts. These include marketing and services, oil products, renewable aviation, renewable polymers and chemicals, and renewable road transportation. They also have a unit that manages how they produce and supply their products.

Refining

Neste's Porvoo refinery

In 2022, Neste had refineries that process regular oil in Porvoo, Finland. It also had refineries that make renewable diesel in Porvoo, Singapore, and Rotterdam, Netherlands.

In 2015, the two renewable diesel lines in Porvoo made 0.525 million tons of renewable diesel. This was about one-fifth of all the diesel used in Finland. Neste's plant in Singapore is the biggest renewable diesel refinery in the world. It can make 1.1 million tons each year. A new production line is planned to add another million tons by 2022.

Neste uses different materials to make its products. These include crude oil and renewable materials. Renewable materials include used cooking fat, waste animal and fish fat from the food industry, and waste from making vegetable oil. They also use technical corn oil, palm oil, rapeseed oil, and soybean oil. About 80% of the renewable materials are waste fats and oils. Neste is also looking into using community waste, algae, and liquefied waste plastic. In 2019, most of the crude oil Neste used came from Russia.

Neste makes many different products. These include gasolines, diesel, aviation and marine fuels. They also make light and heavy fuel oils, base oils, and special fuels. As a side product, they sell LPGs, carbon dioxide, and sulfur. Neste has dozens of types of gasoline and over a hundred final products. In 2017, Neste was the world's largest maker of renewable diesel. It produced 2.6 million tons per year.

Neste has developed its own special technology called NEXBTL for making renewable fuels. Renewable diesel is a fuel that can be used in regular diesel engines without changing the engine. Neste's sustainable aviation fuel can be mixed with regular jet fuel. It is used by airlines like Lufthansa and Air BP. In 2019, Neste made about 100,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel. They plan to make about 1.5 million tons per year by 2023.

Service Stations

Neste owns a chain of service stations. It is the largest chain in Finland. In 2020, Neste had over 800 stations in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Its service station chain in Finland includes different types of stations. These are Neste, Neste K, unmanned Neste Express stations, and Neste Truck stations for large vehicles.

Neste and the Environment

Climate Goals

Neste aims to make its production carbon neutral by 2035. This means they want to balance the amount of carbon they release with the amount they remove.

Palm Oil Use

Neste has faced some criticism for using palm oil and a product called palm fatty acid distillate. These are used as materials for its renewable products. Groups like WWF and Greenpeace have raised concerns.

Neste uses a small part of the world's total palm oil production. In 2016, less than 20% of the renewable materials Neste used was crude palm oil. Since 2007, Neste has been able to track where its crude palm oil comes from. Since 2013, all of its crude palm oil has been certified. This means it meets certain standards. However, this certification does not apply to palm fatty acid distillate. Since 2016, Neste has shared information about all its crude palm oil suppliers on its website.

Some groups have said that even with certifications, it's hard to guarantee that all palm oil is free from the effects of recent forest destruction. Greenpeace has also raised concerns. Neste has been working to address these concerns and promote sustainable palm oil use.