State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), through its joint-venture contractor SOCAR-KBR LLC, has let a contract to Tecnicas Reunidas SA for work on modernization and expansion under way at the Heydar Aliyev refinery at Baku.
Tecnicas Reunidas will handle engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) for reconstruction and refurbishment of processing and associated plant installations, SOCAR said.
SOCAR did not disclose a value of EPC contract.
SOCAR’s Heydar Aliyev modernization and upgrading program aims by 2021 to expand crude capacity to 7.5 million tonnes/year (tpy) from 6 million tpy and enable 100% production of Euro 5-quality fuels and high-quality raw feedstock for SOCAR subsidiary Azerikimya Production Union’s nearby petrochemical plant (OGJ Online, June 9, 2017; Sept. 14, 2016; Mar. 16, 2016).
To be implemented in three stages, the modernization project will involve upgrades to existing equipment as well as installation of 14 units, according to SOCAR.
Phase 1, to be completed in 2018, includes construction and start-up of a bitumen plant, unidentified associated plants, and a gas-filling station at the site.
Scheduled for completion by yearend 2020, Phase 2 will include construction of storage installations for Euro 5-quality diesel as well as reconstruction of unidentified units.
Phase 3, which will be completed by 2021, involves construction of an A-92/95/98 gasoline plant with products conforming to Euro 5 standards.
Award of the EPC contract to Tecnicas Reunidas follows completion of front-end engineering design (FEED) for the project, which SOCAR awarded to Amec Foster Wheeler in 2016 and—alongside revamp of the refinery’s crude and vacuum distillation units—was to cover FEED services for the following new processing units: diesel hydrotreating, isomerization, methyl tertiary butyl ether, fluid catalytic cracking gasoline treatment, sour-water stripping, amine treatment, and sulfur recovery (OGJ Online, Apr. 26, 2016).
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
