Installation of major equipment has now begun at the construction site of the advanced oil refining complex (AORC) being built at Gazprom Neft’s Omsk Refinery, with 10 high-pressure heat exchangers being the first to be installed.
Two cranes, able to lift 400 and 1,300 tonnes, respectively, are being used in lifting the equipment which, in addition to the heat exchangers, includes two columns of 45 and 64 metres in height, as well as reactors and separators. Installation of the equipment is expected to be complete by 30 June.
The AORC project at the Omsk Refinery is being implemented as part of the second phase of a large-scale modernisation programme throughout Gazprom Neft’s oil refining assets, aimed at increasing refining depth and production of light petroleum products. The AORC will combine the processes of hydro-cracking vacuum gas oil, hydrogen and sulphur production, and will allow the production of light petroleum products from heavy residues. The facility has a production capacity of two million tonnes of crude per year.
Commissioning the facility will allow the plant to increase production of light petroleum products (aviation kerosene and Euro-5-standard diesel fuels) by more than six percent per year, while the use of cutting-edge technologies will result in the removal of sulphur compounds reaching 99.8 percent. Implementing this project will also allow Gazprom Neft to increase its resource base for the production of the latest lubricants (Group II and Group III base oils), which have high-performance features and minimal impurities.
