Orlen lets contract for Lithuanian refinery

PKN Orlen SA subsidiary Orlen Lietuva AB has let a contract to DuPont Clean Technologies, a division of E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., to provide technology licensing for a grassroots alkylation unit to be built at its 10-million tonnes/year refinery in Mažeikiai, Lithuania.

As part of the contract, DuPont Clean Technologies will supply alkylation and spent acid regeneration (SAR) technologies for the refinery, including licensing, engineering, and technical services for the proprietary STRATCO alkylation and MECS SAR units, DuPont said.

The STRATCO alkylation unit will use LPG in the conversion process to produce 6,000 b/sd of alkylate, while the 75-tonnes/day MECS SAR unit will provide the refinery a consistent supply of sulfuric acid to be used as catalyst for the alkylation unit.

Intended to help increase the Mažeikiai refinery’s complexity, flexibility, and profitability to ensure its long-term competitiveness, the STRATCO alkylation and MECS SAR units—both scheduled for startup in 2025—will enable Orlen Lietuva to generate low-sulfur, high-octane, low-RVP alkylate with zero olefins that meets Euro 6-quality standards, according to the service provider.

Orlen Lietuva’s ongoing modernization program at the Mažeikiai refinery also includes proposed construction of a residue conversion unit under the operator’s planned bottom-of-the-barrel (BOTB) improvement project, the company said in its latest annual report to investors. With contracts for technology licensing, basic design, and procurement already awarded, Orlen Lietuva said it expects to complete the BOTB project in 2023 at an estimated budget of $385.3 million.

In its latest annual report to investors, parent Orlen said a project to increase distillate yields also is under way at the Mažeikiai refinery. Further details regarding either the BOTB or distillate yields projects have yet to be disclosed.