Lukoil commissions new plant at Bulgarian refinery

Lukoil Neftochim Burgas AD, a subsidiary of Russia’s OAO Lukoil, has commissioned a heavy-residue hydrocracking complex at its 9.8 million-tonne/year refinery in Burgas, Bulgaria, along the Black Sea.

The new complex, which consists of a 2.5 million-tpy residual asphalt hydrocracking unit and a number of auxiliary units, began operations on May 20, Lukoil said.

In addition to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, the new processing complex will contribute to an increase in the refinery’s production of light fuels as well as an improvement in overall energy efficiency at the site, the company said.

With start-up of the new complex, which will produce Euro 5-compliant fuel gas, gasoline, diesel, and vacuum gas oil, the Burgas refinery is anticipated to reach a refining depth of 90%, Lukoil said.

The $1.5 billion complex includes a sulfur recovery unit that was completed during 2014, according to a March report to investors.

Lukoil, which in 2012 let a turkey project-implementation contract for the hydrocracking plant to Technip, initially planned to commission the complex in January 2015, the company said in a release on Jan. 25, 2012.