A process for producing renewable distillate-range hydrocarbons is provided. The process includes dehydrating a renewable C2-C6 alcohol feedstock to produce an olefin, oligomerizing the olefin the presence of a halometallate ionic liquid catalyst to produce an oligomer product and hydrogenating the oligomer product or fractions thereof to produce saturated distillate-range hydrocarbons.

The present invention relates to a novel process for preparing a compound of Formula I and the intermediates thereof,

##STR00001## wherein, R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3a, R.sup.3b, R.sup.3c, R.sup.4, R.sup.5, R.sup.6, R.sup.7 and Z are as defined in the description.