PJSC Lukoil has commissioned the first of two planned gas processing units (GPUs) at its Stavrolen petrochemical complex in Budennovsk, Russia.
Part of Lukoil’s program to expand the Stavrolen complex’s ability to process associated petroleum gas (APG) from fields in the northern Caspian, the 2.2 billion-cu m/year GPU-1 officially reached startup on Feb. 16, the company said.
Alongside supplying Lukoil a source of its own gas to feed the company’s electric power generation installations in the Stavropol region, GPU-1 also will provide feedstock for expanded petrochemical production at Stavrolen (OGJ Online, June 4, 2014).
Part of the APG processed at GPU-1 will be dedicated as feed to polyethylene and polypropylene production units at the complex in order to stimulate development of small and midsized plastic processing businesses in the region, Lukoil said.
In addition to recently completed upgrades at Stavrolen’s 350,000-tonne/year ethylene plant (OGJ Online, Apr. 7, 2015), Lukoil also plans to expand ethylene and polyethylene production capacities at the site, each by 255,000 tpy, in 2021, the company said.
Following startup of the 2 billion-cu m/year GPU-2, also due by 2021, Stavrolen’s total APG processing capacity will average about 4 billion cu m/year.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].