Lukoil’s Nizhny Novgorod refinery starts up new isom plant

PJSC Lukoil subsidiary LLC Lukoil Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez’s (NNOS) has commissioned a new isomerization unit at its 17-million tonne/year (tpy) Kstovo refinery in central Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region (OGJ Online, Jan. 29, 2021).

Officially entered into service on June 18, the new 800,000-tpy Penex isomerization plant—which includes a hydrotreater for NK-85° C. light fractions, a naphtha splitter, and a deisopentanizer—will enable the refinery to produce isomerate—a high-octane blending component—to improve the quality and quantity of gasoline production at the site, Lukoil said.

The project, which required an overall investment of 12 billion rubles, will increase the Kstovo refinery’s Euro 5-quality gasoline output by 400,000 tpy, according to the operator.

Major construction wraps

Lukoil also confirmed on June 18 that NNOS has completed construction of the refinery’s long-planned deep conversion, delayed coking (OGJ Online, Mar. 24, 2021).

Scheduled commissioning of the complex in fourth-quarter 2021, the new complex will enable the Nizhny Novgorod refinery to slash its production of fuel oil by 2.6 million tpy and increase annual output of Russian Class 5 (equivalent to Euro 5)-quality diesel fuel by 700,000 tpy.

Additionally, the refinery’s overall product yield will increase to 97%, with yield of light products reaching 74-75%. Total fuel oil production from the refinery simultaneously will drop to less than 4%, Lukoil said.

Nizhny Novgorod’s deep conversion, delayed coking complex will include the following major units:

• A 2.11-million tpy delayed coker.
• A 1.5-million tpy combined diesel fuel and gasoline hydrotreater.
• A 50,000-cu m/hr hydrogen production unit.
• A 425,000-tpy gas fractionator.
• An 81,000-tpy combined elemental sulfur-sulfuric acid production unit.