Essar Energy completes Vadinar refinery expansion

Essar Oil Ltd. has completed the $1.81 billion expansion of its Vadinar refinery in India with the successful commissioning of the 7.5 million tonne/year delayed coker unit, the final unit to be completed.

In December, it commissioned a large C₅-C₆ isomerization unit (OGJ Online, Dec. 12, 2011). Vadinar, in Gujarat state, is now India’s second-largest single-location refinery, with an annual capacity of 375,000 b/d from 300,000 b/d.

The capacity expansion and complexity enhancement gives the refinery the capability to process a much greater proportion of lower cost heavy and ultra-heavy crudes. The company has already entered into long-term sourcing contracts with global crude suppliers, including several Latin American national oil companies.

The refinery expansion project was implemented using Essar Group’s in-house capabilities. The construction and overall project management was handled by Essar Projects. The DCU, which is among the world’s largest units of its type, is a key addition to Vadinar because of its ability to convert bottom-of-the-barrel vacuum residue into gas oil, gasoline, and vacuum gas oil.

New units includea 3.9 million tpy fluidized catalytic cracking unit, 0.7 million tpy isomerization unit, 4 million tpy diesel hydrotreater, 6.5 million tpy vacuum gas oil hydrotreater, and 675 tonne/day sulfur recovery unit. An optimization project is also under way at the Vadinar refinery that will further increase the capacity to 405,000 b/d by September.