Independent Russian refinery wraps revamp of deep conversion complex

Privately held JSC Antipinsky Refinery, the main production enterprise of JSC New Stream, Moscow, has completed a project to expand capacity of the atmospheric residue deep conversion unit (ARDCU) at its 9 million-tonne/year refinery in the Tyumen region of Western Siberia, Russia.

Carried out by Tehinzhstroy Construction Co. LLC and completed as of July 11, the modernization and technical upgrade of the ARDCU complex—which includes the refinery’s vacuum distillation unit (VDU) and delayed coker—has increased feedstock processing capacity of the VDU to 540 tonnes/hr from 375 tonnes/hr, boosting the unit’s overall capacity to 4.5 million tpy from 3 million tpy, half, New Stream said.

The project also expanded processing capacity of the delayed coker to 1.7 million tpy from its previous 1.3 million-tpy capacity, according to the operator.

Alongside installation of higher-capacity piping as well as more powerful pumps and a gas compressor, the upgrading project included replacement of more than 55 tonnes of contact devices inside the vacuum column.

Preventative maintenance activities executed during the project included a complete purging of the ARDCU’s pipeline system, according to New Stream.

Modernization of the ARDCU follows startup of the refinery’s combined high-octane gasoline production unit (CHOGPU)—including a continuous catalyst regeneration unit and isomerization unit—that is equipped to produce 600,000 tpy of Euro 5-quality AI-92 and AI-95 gasoline during second-quarter 2018, according to a series of April-May releases from the operator.

First commissioned in 2006, the Antipinsky refinery began producing Euro 5-quality diesel in October 2015 with startup of a 3 million-tpy diesel hydrotreating complex—which includes a hydrotreating unit, hydrogen production unit, gas treating unit, and sulfur recovery unit—followed by commissioning of a second diesel hydrotreating unit in 2016 to boost overall diesel hydrotreating capacity at the site to 4 million tpy.

Founded in July 2004, the refinery—which became Russia’s first independently owned and operated in 35 years—features three crude units and remains the only refinery in the Tyumen region as well as the Ural Federal District.

Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].