Plants in Europe seek alternative crude supplies

Refineries in Europe are looking for alternative crude supplies as they shun Russian imports following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Poland’s PKN Orlen is ramping up crude oil deliveries from Saudi Arabia and spot North Sea crude purchases following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “PKN Orlen reached an agreement on increased deliveries of five additional tankers from Saudi Aramco. In addition, supplies of crude oil from the North Sea were secured for Orlen Lietuva [in Lithuania],” the company said. PKN said in a separate statement that its feedstock supplies were secure, with deliveries proceeding as normal.

Essar, the owner of the UK’s Stanlow refinery, is seeking alternative sources of diesel to supply its UK retail fuel network as pressure mounts on companies to cut ties with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Essar said it turned away two cargoes of non-Russian origin crude, which would have been delivered in Russian-flagged tankers after the UK banned vessels on March 1 that are Russian-owned, operated, controlled, chartered, registered or flagged from UK ports.

An increasing number of European oil companies are suspending purchases of Russian crude following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

BP, TotalEnergies, Italy’s Eni and Saras, Spain’s Repsol and Cepsa, Portugal’s Galp, Finland’s Neste and Sweden’s Preem have also suspended all new purchases of oil and oil products from Russia.

The European Commission plans to propose by mid-May the “phase-out” of Russian fossil fuels by 2027, EC President Ursula von der Leyen said March 11, after EU leaders met in Versailles to coordinate further responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron also said “nothing is off the table” when it comes to potential new measures against Moscow after being asked whether the EU could consider a more immediate ban on Russian oil and gas imports or blocking Gazprombank from the SWIFT banking system.

Speaking after the summit concluded, von der Leyen said the EU’s priority was to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

In other news, Germany’s Schwedt refinery is carrying out normal operations, Rosneft’s German subsidiary said in early March. The refinery is not affected by sanctions imposed on Russia.

Russian crude imports in Germany and German refining operations are running at normal levels, according to a spokesman for German fuels and energy business lobby group en2x.

Germany’s Schwedt and Leuna refineries are supplied with crude via the Druzhba pipeline from Russia.

Germany’s economy ministry has started an investigation into Rosneft expanding its ownership of the Schwedt refinery after the antimonopoly service cleared the Russian state-controlled company’s purchase of more shares, S&P Global Commodity Insights reported, citing media reports.

As a result of the purchase, Rosneft’s share would rise to 91.67% from 54.17%. Rosneft had said Nov. 17 it was exercising a right to acquire a 37.5% stake in the PCK Schwedt refinery and had notified Shell. The deal was expected to be closed after approval by the regulators.

The ISAB plant in Sicily is operating as usual, according to information provided by a source close to the refinery. “Operations are going according to programmed monthly planning,” the source said. The company was not immediately available to comment on the matter. ISAB is owned by Russian energy group Lukoil.

Separately, demand for oil products is rising across Europe.

The volume of vehicle fuels supplied by Spain’s national fuel distributor Exolum to the country’s retail market in February increased 30% year on year to 3.0 million cu m (2.4 million mt) as gasoline and diesel volumes surpassed pre-pandemic levels, according to Exolum data published March 3.

With most travel and social restrictions lifted, supply volumes were only about 4% short of pre-pandemic February levels from 2019 and 2020, the data showed.

The shortfall was because kerosene was lagging, with February volumes up nearly threefold year on year at 307 million cu m (246 million mt) but down around 30% from pre-pandemic levels in February 2020 and February 2019.

Tupras, Turkey’s main oil refiner, said in an investor presentation that domestic demand for diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and LPG had all risen sharply in 2021 as the country recovered from the effects of COVID-19. The company did not quote a source for the data, but said Turkey’s overall diesel consumption in 2021 totaled 26.3 million mt, up 4.4% on 2020 and up 5.6% on 2019, pre-pandemic. Gasoline sales were 3.0 million mt, up 29% on both 2020 and 2019. Jet sales of 3.4 million mt — which includes sales to transit flights, were up 39% on 2020 due to the rebound in the Turkish tourism sector as vaccination rates increased and travel restrictions across Turkey’s main tourist markets were lifted. However, jet sales were still 36% lower than 2019, indicating there was still considerable room for growth as markets return to normal in the wake of the pandemic.

Tupras announced no changes to its expectations for 2022 or its planned maintenance schedules.

In other news, Romania’s Rompetrol said its 2021 results were affected by the shutdown of its Petromidia refinery following an incident last summer. Romania’s Petromidia refinery halted operations July 2 following a fire at a diesel hydrotreating unit (HPM). Its facilities reached optimum operational efficiency in the second half of October, the company said Feb. 28. It processed 4.586 million mt of raw materials in 2021, down from 4.864 million mt in 2020. Romepetrol’s Vega refinery reported 321,000 mt throughput in 2021, down from 364,000 mt in 2020.

Separately, the UK’s union Unite said it has started a ballot of around one third of the contractors at the Fawley refinery which could lead to potential industrial action in April. The ballot of 100 workers is over pay negotiations, Unite said. ExxonMobil spokesperson said the company hopes the negotiations between union members “and their respective employers, which provide third-party contracting services” at Fawley could reach “a swift and amicable resolution.”

Near-term maintenance
New and revised maintenance
** Italy’s Eni is considering converting its Livorno refinery into a biorefinery that will produce hydrogenated biofuel, according to local media reports. Livorno can also produce biojet as well as lubricants. The plan has been discussed at a meeting with the authorities and labor unions organized by the ministry of economic development. The company however has asked for the sector to be supported by the government and a further discussion will follow, according to the reports. Last year, the company unveiled plans to stop refining crude and suspend all related activities at the Livorno refinery by end 2022, according to information provided by labor unions.

** API’s refinery in the Italian coastal town of Falconara Marittima will restart its thermal cracking unit in the coming days, after it was shut following a fire in February, a source close to the refinery said March 11. The refinery has been operating as usual since the Feb. 24 fire, barring the thermal cracking unit which was being examined and tested for damage prior to being restarted, the source said. A fire broke out in the thermal cracking unit on Feb. 24 and was extinguished in about half an hour.

** Spain’s A Coruna has started planned work on four conversion units, Repsol said March 11. The company will invest Eur10 million in the work, which started March 10 and is expected to last 33 days. During the work, Repsol will carry out work on the hydrotreatment unit that will boost biofuel output. The work will allow it to process vegetable oils alongside used cooking oil to produce 5,500 mt/year in 2022, with the volume rising to 10,500 mt/year by 2024. The remainder of the work, which will generally target sulfur reduction units, will aid the overall transformation of the refinery to produce more biofuels and other low-carbon fuels.

** Croatia’s Rijeka refinery continues with its maintenance, according to market sources. The company declined to comment. It had said previously that the refinery started a planned temporary shutdown for a catalyst replacement at the end of October 2021. The maintenance was to also be used for works on other units. According to media reports, the maintenance also involves modification of the hydrodesulfurization reactor at the hydrocracker.

** Romania’s Petromidia will suspend operations for a planned technological turnaround between March 11-April 3. “Works will be carried out to verify and recertify the production units and the operational flows,” the company said March 4. The company will also suspend operations at its Vega facility, “which operates with finished and semi-finished materials from Petromidia.” The technological shutdown “is a necessity for the good functioning of the refinery units,” Rompetrol said, adding that a general turnaround is carried out every four years and technological shutdown every two years.

** Denmark’s Crossbridge Energy Fredericia refinery started planned maintenance on some of its units Feb. 26. The refinery will run at reduced capacity during the shutdown. The refinery was renamed to Crossbridge Energy Fredericia after its acquisition by US-based Postlane Partners from Shell in January 2021.

** Germany’s Lingen refinery will carry out planned partial works on part of the plant that could be accompanied by flaring and noise. The works will last for around three weeks from March 3.

** ExxonMobil’s Antwerp refinery is currently carrying out maintenance works, according to market sources March 3. The works, whose extent has not been confirmed, are likely to last into April.

** A technical problem following an electrical glitch on March 10 was quickly brought under control at France’s Port Jerome-Gravenchon refinery, ExxonMobil, operator of the refinery, said on the Allo Industrie website. The incident had caused three small fire outbreaks that had been contained quickly by the site’s firefighters. The outbreaks happened on units that are currently halted, according to local media. The refinery had been undergoing partial maintenance since Feb. 23.

** Spain’s Bilbao refinery is restarting its N1 naphtha desulfurization unit that was halted on March 3, it said March 11. The refinery started a general turnaround on Feb. 15 that impacted several units, including the larger crude distillation unit 2, VDU and coker. The refinery will be running at 50% capacity for the turnaround that will last until April 5. During the halt, work will be carried out on the coker as well as other units in the conversion area of the refinery. The refinery halted its AK3 alkylation unit Feb. 17 and its vacuum unit V3 Feb. 18. It halted on March 3 the P2 platforming unit and N1 naphtha desulfurization unit. On March 1 it halted the G4 diesel desulfurization unit, H3 hydrogen production unit and cogeneration CG6 units. The larger crude distillation unit 2, VDU and coker were taken off Feb. 15.

** France’s Donges refinery is expected to restart around March 18, according to local media reports. The refinery was due to restart by the end of March, following an economic shutdown and maintenance. During the maintenance, which started in late November, Donges has also been building a new desulfurization unit. TotalEnergies halted operations at Donges on Nov. 30, 2020 due to weak margins. Meanwhile, a new railway to bypass the Donges plant, meaning other rail traffic will not have to pass through the site, is set to start operations in October. Work on the railway, which has been a condition for modernizing the refinery, started in 2020. The French government, local authorities, railway operator SNCF and TotalEnergies signed a memorandum of intent in 2016 to build the railway bypassing the refinery. TotalEnergies has said previously that following the bypass agreement, it would proceed with the planned upgrade. The bypass was due to be ready in 2022.

** Poland’s second largest refiner Grupa Lotos said that it will start the shutdown of refinery units for maintenance at its Gdansk refinery on March 9. The partial turnaround will shut down 50 of the refinery’s 65 installations and is expected to last until April 16. The bulk of the maintenance will be carried out in March and individual units will be restarted in early April. The last stage of the project will involve the renovation of the hydrogen generation unit between April 17 and May 14. This is the second part of the planned overhaul, with the first stage taking place between February and May last year. Lotos said it estimates that “the maximum throughput reduction attributable directly to the shutdown will be approximately 7% on an annual basis” but that it is implementing “operational measures” to minimize this.

** Germany’s Ingolstadt refinery is undergoing planned maintenance on the steam generator. Part of the plant was halted between Feb. 23-28 with the works set to last around 14 days.

** A planned maintenance on the FCC unit at Israel’s Haifa is underway.

The works “began as planned and as previously announced during the first quarter of 2022,” the company said, adding that they are due to finish by the end of Q1. Bazan has previously said that it has delayed scheduled maintenance of the FCC at Haifa from Q2 2021 to the first half of 2022 when there would be also maintenance at all the Carmel Olefin facilities. The company would carry out maintenance of the FCC alongside maintenance at all the Carmel Olefin facilities in the first quarter of 2022.

Existing entries
** TotalEnergies’ Antwerp refinery is due to carry out maintenance this spring, according to traders. The works will most likely take place in April.

** Turkey’s Tupras reported an extensive maintenance schedule for 2022. For its Izmit refinery, periodic maintenance of the isomerization unit lasting five weeks was reported to be ongoing. Periodic maintenance of the vacuum and desulfurizer units were reported as planned for Q1, each lasting three weeks, with periodic maintenance of the crude oil and vacuum unit and the HYC unit both planned for the end of Q3 and both lasting six weeks.

For its Izmir refinery, periodic maintenance of the vacuum unit and lubes complex were reported as ongoing during Q1, both lasting six weeks. The company said that in Q4 at Izmir it plans to revamp the crude unit, CCR & isomerization unit and desulfurizer — all lasting nine weeks — and the HYC unit, expected to last four weeks.

Seasonal maintenance of the crude oil and vacuum unit at Tupras’ Batman plant was reported as ongoing for 13 weeks during Q1 with further work on the same unit planned for four weeks in Q4.

** Germany’s Heide is planning partial works from Feb. 28 to March 25. Only some units will be affected. From the beginning of March the affected production facilities will be cleaned and inspected and if necessary repaired.

The refinery was fully back online Feb. 16 after a power failure on Feb. 6. The power plant was back in operation Feb. 9 when units also were gradually restarting.

** In the second half of 2022, Repsol will carry out a smaller turnaround at its Tarragona refinery, which will involve the isomax and hydrocracker units.

** Greece’s Hellenic Petroleum plans full turnaround at its Elefsina refinery in the first half of 2022. The maintenance at Elefsina was brought forward by an incident at the end of January, when the whole refinery was halted and the maintenance started, Hellenic said. The works will last until the end of March for half of the refinery and the flexicoker will start a few weeks later. Traders had reported that the incident occurred at the coker.

** Greece’s Hellenic Petroleum plans full turnaround at Thessaloniki in the second half of the year. The maintenance at Thessaloniki will last between six and eight weeks.

** MOL will schedule the bulk of its 2022 maintenance activities in the first half of the year, including works at MOL Petrochemicals, as well as at the distillation and conversion units of its Danube and Slovnaft refineries.

** OMV plans a general maintenance at the Burghausen refinery between June 22-Aug. 7. It has previously said the turnaround would be in Q3. The turnaround will include also the Borealis polyolefin production site. The last turnaround took place in 2014, followed by a partial shutdown of the refinery in May 2018. “In order to continue to ensure safe, environmentally friendly operation and the efficiency of the plants, all plants will be shut down during the turnaround, cleaned and inspected,” the company said. In addition, expansion work will be carried out to increase ethylene and propylene production. The turnaround will be used to expand and modernize the steam cracker and subsequently increase the capacities for ethylene and propylene production, S&P Global Platts has reported previously. The expansion is expected to facilitate increased annual ethylene and propylene production by around 50,000 mt/year.

** Shell plans to end crude processing at the Wesseling site within the Rhineland refining complex in 2025 as the facilities are repurposed for non-fossil fuel feedstocks and renewable hydrogen production. Shell outlined plans for the facility to take a variety of new biogenic and waste feedstocks, underlining that no final investment decision had yet been taken, and crude processing would still take place at the adjoining Godorf site. The Wesseling portion of the Rhineland refinery accounts for half the overall refining capacity, or 8 million mt/year.

** OMV said that a turnaround is planned at Schwechat in Q2.

** Lithuania’s Orlen Lietuva plans to suspend operations for a major maintenance in May. The works will last from May 22 to June 14.

** Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam — formerly known as the Pernis refinery — which will undergo major maintenance between end January-end June, will ensure continuity of the plant’s operations during the works so that while one installation is shut down, another will continue production, the company said. Therefore no total shutdown will be involved, and the refinery will stock “enough product to ensure continuity of supply for the time an installation is down for maintenance.” The maintenance aims to further improve the safety, reliability and efficiency of the refinery’s installations as well as to carry out “legally required inspections and repairs,” the refinery also said.

** Italy’s Sannazzaro de Burgondi refinery, which was taken partially offline for large-scale maintenance works in July 2021, will remain offline for the whole of next year, a source close to the refinery told S&P Global Platts. Sources said maintenance was being carried out on the plant’s slurry technology (EST) unit, which was taken offline following a fire in 2016, as well as on the refinery’s hydrocracking unit, the visbreaking plant and the gas depuration unit, among others. Eni’s EST plant had originally been scheduled to restart last year but was kept offline amid the nationwide slump in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

** Romania’s Petrobrazi will undergo its next big turnaround in 2022.

Future
Existing entries
** Gunvor Group said that its Ingolstadt refinery in Germany will undertake projects focused on heating systems and exchangers “to continue improving its energy efficiency and reduce its emissions.” A planned turnaround in 2023 will allow additional reductions, by carrying out projects on the FCC.

** Czech Unipetrol said that following the turnaround at its Litvinov plant in Q2’20 the refinery has prepared production for a new four-year cycle. Thus, the next turnaround is due in 2024.

** Two months of maintenance at the Sarpom refinery in Trecate, Italy, originally scheduled for October 2019 have been pushed back. Details on which units at the refinery will be upgraded as part of the maintenance — of the kind needed every 3-4 years — had yet to emerge.

** The Holborn refinery near Hamburg, northern Germany, plans its next turnaround in 2023. Its previous maintenance was in the autumn of 2018. The refinery carries out major works every five years.

** Total’s Feyzin is considering mothballing a visbreaker unit as demand for heavy fuel is gradually declining and the unit works on average no more than three days a month.
Source: Platts