More maintenance in Russia coming up

Several refineries in Russia are set for August and September works, as others come back online after their summer maintenance.

Russian refineries processed 23.51 million mt (about 5.5 million b/d) of crude in July, up 5.7% year on year and up 3.5% from June, according to energy ministry data. The year-on-year increase in throughput was due to run cuts last year, while the monthly increase was due to some refineries restarting after maintenance, although others started work in July.

In June, Russian refineries processed 22.706 million mt (about 5.5 million b/d) of crude, up 10.5% year on year but down 0.9% from May, according to energy ministry data.

Meanwhile, the potential export ban on gasoline remained in the spotlight for the Russian domestic market but market participants questioned the efficiency of the measure and whether it will be enforced. According to media reports, the government is considering enforcing a ban on the export of premium and regular unleaded gasoline for three months, but is not planning to introduce a prohibitively high export duty, which on previous occasions has helped halt the export flows. Furthermore, the ban is unlikely to extend to gasoline components, such as naphtha, which could lead to reduced output of gasoline at the expense of increased production and exports of naphtha. Meanwhile, availability is expected to remain tight due to ongoing and upcoming refinery maintenance amid strong demand, boosted by domestic tourism.

In other news, product output from Azerbaijan’s Heydar Aliyev refinery during the first half of 2021 totaled 2.594 million mt, up 7.1% over the same period in 2020, according to data from Azerbaijan’s state statistics authority published by state news agency Azertac.

Ukraine’s second largest producer of gasoline and diesel fuel, Shebelinka GPP, which operates under the Shebel brand name, increased gas condensate processing by 6.8% on the year to 236,000 mt in January-June, compared with 221,000 mt refined in the same period a year ago, the company reported.

Ukraine’s largest oil refinery, UkrTatNafta, said it planned to double its daily oil refining rate in August to 14,000 mt/day to compensate for a shortfall of gasoline imports from Belarus..

Separately, Russia’s Gazprom Neft said Aug. 3 that it is aiming to more than double its hydrogen production to 250,000 mt/year by 2024. The company currently produces over 100,000 mt of hydrogen, which is used in processing at its refineries. Russia is aiming to become a significant player in the global hydrogen market, capitalizing on domestic resources, existing energy supply routes, and proximity to potential future consumers. It is targeting a 20% global market share, and production of up to 7 million mt/year by 2035 and 33 million mt/year by 2050.

NEW AND ONGOING MAINTENANCE

UPGRADES

LAUNCHES

Near-term maintenance

New and revised entries

** Russia’s Angarsk refinery plans works in August which will last into September.

** Russia’s Komsomolsk refinery plans August-September works after deferring planned maintenance in the spring so it did not coincide with the turnaround at the Khabarovsk refinery.

** Russia’s Ryazan refinery plans works in August.

** Maintenance at Russia’s Taneco drew to a close in late July. Its turnaround started in June and was expected to last until late July.

** Russia’s Taif refinery is set to start works in August to last into September.

** Russia’s Yaisky refinery will carry out maintenance work in September.

** Russia’s Syzran refinery is planning a major maintenance in September, with the whole refinery affected, according to market sources.

** Russia’s Omsk plans partial works in September.

** Russia’s Achinsk refinery resumed sales of gasoline and diesel on the St. Petersburg exchange on July 7 after halting in early May due to maintenance.

** Works are Russia’s Kuybishev refinery are drawing to a close, according to market sources. Works started in May.

Existing entries

** Russia’s Astrakhan refinery, which predominantly processes gas condensate and produces only light products, has extended its maintenance until September 10. The plant started works in May.

** Russia’s Surgut gas condensate processing plant started works July 14 set to last until August 10.

** Belarus’ Mozyr refinery started a major turnaround from June 1.

** Russia’s Salavat is planning another partial maintenance in the autumn.

** Kazakhstan’s Atyrau refinery is expected to carry out a planned maintenance from mid-September to mid-October, according to media reports citing the energy ministry.

** Kazakhstan’s Pavlodar refinery will carry out works in August. The planned maintenance at the Pavlodar refinery has been moved from the spring in order to secure domestic supply.

Upgrades

New and revised entries

** Russian oil company Lukoil started the construction of a polypropylene unit at its refinery near Nizhny Novgorod, also known as Norsi and Kstovo. The unit will use feedstock from the two upgraded FCC units with 4 million mt/year capacity.

Separately, the refinery launched a unit that will have the ability to produce bitumen-polymers which are widely used in automotive infrastructure but also in vehicle tires. It has more than 150,000 mt capacity during the production season and will expand the bitumen production of the plant.

Nizhny Novgorod is completing the construction of a deep processing complex. It is due to be launched in the autumn and will allow the refinery to reduce fuel oil output by 2.6 million mt/year and increase 10 ppm diesel output by 700,000 mt/year. The refinery’s depth of processing will reach 97% and the light products yield 74%. As a result of the launch, Lukoil’s refineries’ fuel oil output will be less than 4% and light products yield 75%. The deep processing complex includes a 2.110 million mt/year delayed coker; a diesel and gasoline hydrotreater, with 1.5 million mt/yr capacity; a hydrogen unit, with 50,000 Nm3/hour capacity; a gas fractionation unit, with 425,000 mt/year capacity; and a sulfur unit, with 81,000 mt/year capacity.

** Russian oil company Tatneft said July 7 that it will use the technology of Hungarian oil company MOL to build a unit for the production of resin-modified bitumen. The unit, with 25,000 mt/year capacity, will be commissioned around mid-2023.

Taneco refinery is building a second delayed coker with 2 million mt/year capacity, residue hydroconversion and diesel hydrodewaxing.

** Gazprom Neft said it has completed the construction of a delayed coker in their Omsk refinery successfully. The delayed coker along with a hydrocracker the construction of which is anticipated to be completed in 2021, will form the part of deep crude oil processing complex of the Omsk refining complex. The finalizing of the works in the deep processing complex in 2021 will increase the depth of processing up to 100%, the company said. The 2 million mt/year complex will enable the refinery to increase the depth of processing and regulate the yields of gasoline, jet fuel and lubricants feedstock.

Separately, the company has started assembling equipment for the new diesel hydrotreater and dewaxer unit at its Omsk refinery, whose construction is due to be completed in 2021. The unit will have 2.5 million mt/year of feedstock capacity and will allow the refinery to replace two outdated units.

Separately, the company has started assembly of electricity equipment at the catalytic cracker at Omsk refinery as part of the unit’s upgrade which aims at increasing the output of high octane components.

The company had completed installation of the upgraded L 35/11-600 catalytic reformer. Two new compressors have been installed and three have been upgraded. Work had been due for completion in 2020.

Omsk has also completed the installation of the main equipment at the primary CDU-VDU processing complex. The complex, with 8.4 million mt/year capacity, will be completed in 2021, and will allow the refinery to take six outdated units out of service.

Separately, the refinery started a project to upgrade the AVT-10 primary processing complex, which has a capacity of 8.6 million mt/year. The project is due to be completed by the end of 2021.

Existing entries

** Russia’s Ryazan refinery has received equipment for the construction of the gas fractionation unit. The new unit will produce household LPG, isobutane, butane, and others.

** Gazprom Neft said it has chosen Tecnicas Reunidas for the building of a delayed coker at its Moscow refinery. Construction of the delayed coker, which is part of the deep processing complex, will be completed in 2025. The delayed coker will enable the refinery to increase production of motor fuel and start producing petroleum coke. The delayed coker has 2.4 million mt/year capacity. As part of the complex it will build a 2 million mt/year hydrocracker, also due for launch around 2025. The first unit to be completed will be a sulfur production unit in 2023. The launch of the complex will increase the depth of processing of the Moscow refinery to almost 100%. The Moscow refinery will complete its modernization by 2025, when as part of a third phase it will halt the production of fuel oil.

** Russia’s Salavat refinery plans to launch its new FCC in the second half of this year. Currently it is in testing stage. The FCC will have a feedstock capacity of 1.095 million mt/year.

** Russia’s Yanos refinery in Yaroslavl has started building a delayed coker complex. As a result it will fully halt fuel oil output. Its depth of processing will exceed 99% and light products yield — 70%. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2024. The complex will be built in two stages — initially a delayed coker will be built which will enable the processing of more than 3.4 million mt heavy fractions, followed by a naphtha hydrotreater and light gasoil coker. They will provide feedstock for gasoline and diesel.

** Russia’s Novoshakhtinsky refinery will launch its new gasoline complex in 2024. It aims to produce around 670,000-680,000 mt/yr. Construction will start in July 2021. Separately, the refinery plans to launch in December 2024 a 1.8 million mt/yr diesel hydrotreater. At the end of 2026 it expects to launch a deep processing complex, which includes a hydrocracker and delayed coker. Following the completion of all upgrades the refinery will be able to produce up to 3.2 million mt/yr diesel, 400,000 mt petroleum coke.

** Russia’s Safmar Group continues with upgrades at the Afipsky and Orsk refineries, it said March 2021. The Afipsky refinery is planning the construction of a 1.6 million mt/year delayed coker, an upgrade of the hydrocracker complex by expanding its capacity from 2.5 million mt/year to 3 million mt/year.

Separately, Safmar Group is reorganizing two of its refineries by merging the Krasnodar refinery to the Afipsky refinery in southern Russia. It aims to complete the process by the end of summer 2021 and will thereby retain the name Afipsky refinery. The Krasnodar refinery will specialize in primary processing and the Afipsky refinery in secondary processing.

** Safmar plans to build new deep processing complexes at the Orsk refinery. They include a 1.2 million mt/year delayed coker and a gasoline dewaxer with 600,000 mt/year capacity. It also plans an upgrade of the hydrocracker complex and the isomerization unit which would increase their productivity by more than 15%. The hydrocracker is set for launch in Q3 2022. The refinery started building the delayed coker in Q3 2020 and plans completion in Q3 2023. Its depth of processing will increase from 76.7% to 98.1% by 2022-2023. Separately the refinery is building a new unit for hydrotreatment of distillate products from the delayed coker unit. The unit can also be used for hydrodesulfurization of diesel from the primary processing units.

** Belarus’ Mozyr refinery is preparing for the gradual launch of its new hydrocracker H-Oil. The complex includes the hydrocracker, hydrogen and sulfur units. The completion of the hydrocracker H-Oil complex at Mozyr will cut fuel oil output and increase light products. The complex, with feedstock capacity of 3 million mt/year, will increase its light products yield to 70% and depth of processing to 90%. Socar subsidiary Socar Construction has completed the installation of the hydrocracking unit.

Separately, the delayed coker at Belarus Naftan is expected to be launched and produce its first batch of product by the end of this year. Previously the complex was expected to come online in 2020.

Production is expected in Q4. In February 2020, the refinery started testing its new delayed coker, while construction works were ongoing. The new complex will enable the refinery to increase its depth of processing to 90% and the light products yield to 65% while decreasing the output of fuel oil. Upon its launch, the refinery will be able to fully cover the country’s gasoline (up to 1 million mt/year) and diesel (up to 3.4 million mt/year) demand.

** Russia’s Komsomolsk refinery is planning to upgrade the ELOU AVT-3 primary processing complex.

The refinery is building a hydrocracker complex which will increase its depth of processing to over 92%.

The complex has 3.5 million mt/year capacity.

** Russia’s Achinsk refinery will increase its depth of processing to over 95% and the light products yield to 88% upon completion of its upgrades, which will lead to the almost complete halt of fuel oil output. It is building a hydrocracker with integrated hydrotreater. Its launch will enable it to almost double the output of motor fuel aimed at covering domestic demand predominantly in Siberia and the Far East. It is also building a delayed coker complex.

** Russia’s Ilsky is planning to launch a new gasoline complex, including a 1.5 million mt/year CCR and isomerization units, around the second half of 2023 which will enable it to produce high-octane gasoline components and gasoline meeting Euro 5 standards, LPG and xylenes. After launching the gasoline complex, it aims to start building a diesel hydrotreater, with construction likely to be completed in 2024.

** Uzbekistan’s Bukhara will use Honeywell UOP technology to increase crude conversion and produce Euro-5 standard gasoline and diesel. Honeywell will provide “licensing and basic engineering design services” for a new naphtha hydrotreating, RFCC, SelectFining and Merox units. The existing diesel hydrotreater will be revamped. Uzbekneftegaz has decided to proceed with an upgrade of its Bukhara and Fergan refineries and put on hold building a new refinery in the Jizzakh region. Uzbekistan’s Fergan refinery between 2020-2023 aims to commission hydrocracking process in a staggered way which will allow it to produce Euro-5 regular gasoline 92 RON as well as diesel.

** Renovation and rebuilding work on Azerbaijan’s Heydar Aliyev refinery was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Production of Euro 5 diesel and Euro-5 standard A-92/95/98 gasoline was originally planned by the end of 2021, and prior to that the end of 2020 for Euro-5 diesel and early 2021 for Euro-5 standard A-92/95/98. These dates were later pushed back to the start of 2022 due to the effects of the pandemic, with all work on the plant slated to be completed by 2025. The ongoing work includes replacing all the units of the refinery except one and in the process increasing the capacity to 7.5 million mt/year from 6 million mt/year. Work on the Azerkimya facility, which is supplied with feedstock by the Heydar Aliyev refinery, will raise production from 60,000 mt/year previously to around 175,000 mt/year.

** Russia’s Rosneft is working towards launching the hydrocrackers that it has built at four of its refineries — Achinsk, Komsomolsk, Novokuybishev and Tuapse. Russia’s largest refiner is also completing the reconstruction of the hydrocracker at Ufaneftekhim, which was damaged in a fire in July 2016.

Rosneft is expanding the capacity of its existing delayed coker at Novokuybishev. Rosneft plans to complete its refinery modernization program by 2025. The program includes construction and reconstruction of over 50 units, with work on more than 30 of the units having been finished.

** Kyrgyzneftegaz plans to upgrade its Jalal-Abad refinery. Its strategy involves a unit for secondary processing of fuel oil.

** Russia’s Perm is working on a deep processing complex which will increase the refinery’s depth of processing. The project’s timeline is 2020-2025. The complex includes a catalytic cracker, diesel hydrotreater, hydrogen unit, alkylation unit.

** Kazakhstan’s Pavlodar refinery is looking to build a unit for the purification of LPG and has selected a Merox technology.

** The launch of four secondary units at the Mariisky refinery has been delayed. As per plans, after upgrades it expects to increase the AT-2’s capacity to 1.4 million mt/year from 900,000 mt/year and the VDU capacity to 1 million mt/year from 476,000 mt/year.

** The next stage of upgrades at the Antipinsky refinery in Russia involves increasing the capacity of crude and refined product pipelines. Antipinsky, which can process 9 million-9.5 million mt/year of crude, currently receives 7.5 million mt/year of crude.

** A delayed coker will be installed at the Turkmenbashi refining complex in Turkmenistan.

Launches

Existing entries

** Russia’s Rosneft could launch a planned new refinery as part of its VNHK (East petrochemical complex) in the Far East in 2029 and a petrochemical plant in 2026. In August 2020, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Rosneft has shelved a plan to build a new refinery and petrochemical complex in the Far East due to changes in taxation, but can resume the project provided profitability can be guaranteed. Meanwhile, at a new meeting with Russia’s President, Sechin said that one of the factors for carrying out the Far East project would be taking measures for stimulating the production of ethane and LPG. The Far East refinery is planned to process 12 million mt/year of crude, while the petrochemical plant will have 3.4 million mt capacity. The production will include 1.8 million mt gasoline, 6.3 million mt diesel and 4.5 million petrochemical products annually.

** A new refinery is planned to be launched in Georgia, at the Black Sea port of Kulevi, in 2024.

Construction of the 4 million mt/year plant is due to start in 2021. The refinery is expected to have 98% depth of processing and produce Euro 5 and 6 gasoline and diesel and thus reduce Georgia’s import needs for oil products by 15%-20%.

** Russia’s Khabarovsk refinery plans to build a second phase to the plant close to the existing site. The second phase would double the refinery’s capacity to 10 million mt/year, and aims to cover gasoline demand in the far east of Russia. The company is seeking an investor in the Asia-Pacific for the second phase, which includes an FCC, hydrotreater and delayed coker.
Source: Platts