Orlen lets contract for Lithuanian refinery modernization project

Polski Koncern Naftowy Orlen SA (PKN Orlen) subsidiary Orlen Lietuva AB has let a contract to Petrofac Ltd. to provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) for work supporting the ongoing modernization, environmental upgrade, and expansion program at the operator’s 10-million tonne/year (tpy) refinery in Mažeikiai, Lithuania.

As part of the lump-sum contract awarded in late-April, Petrofac will deliver design, EPC, and commissioning services for new installations intended to expand and further enhance the refinery’s ability to meet more stringent requirements for production of cleaner fuels, the service provider said. Installations included within the work scope of the less-than €200 million contract target improving the site’s operational and carbon efficiency.

This latest contract for the Mažeikiai refinery modernization program follows Orlen Lietuva’s previous award to Petrofac in October 2021 for delivery of EPC and commissioning services on a residue conversion unit to be built as part of the operator’s planned bottom-of-the-barrel improvement project. Petrofac’s scope of work on that contract covered the addition of a new residue hydrocracking unit (RHCU) and associated outside battery limits (OSBL) installations.

EPC works for RHCU’s new OSBL specifically include installation of a new amine regeneration unit and stabilization tower, as well as interconnecting pipework and tie-ins to existing refining units and associated system modifications, Petrofac said.

Part of the operator’s broader transformation in line with the global energy transition, the more-than €640 million RHCU project—which began construction in August 2022—is scheduled to reach mechanical completion in 2024 and will enable the refinery to process its high-sulfur fuel oil production into cleaner, lighter finished products.

As part of the refinery’s modernization, Orlen Lietuva also let a contract in February 2021 to DuPont Clean Technologies to license its proprietary alkylation and spent acid regeneration (SAR) technologies for the addition of new STRATCO alkylation and MECS SAR units at the site, both of which are scheduled for startup in 2025 (OGJ Online, Feb. 11, 2021).