Downstream news update: 3 November 2014

Belarus

The upgrade of Belarus’ oil refineries will be concluded in 2016, First Deputy Premier Vladimir Semashko has said. The upgrade will allow for increasing capacities up to 12 million tpy and the oil processing depth up to 92 – 93%. This is expected to generate an increased profit of US$ 80 -90/t of processed oil.

India

The Ministry Petroleum and Natural Gas has turned down the state government’s proposal to increase the Barauni refinery capacity and setting up of a petrochemical complex near the refinery in Begusarai district.

According to Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), increasing the capacity of the refinery at this stage is not techno-economically feasible.

Kazakhstan

Repairs remain underway at Kazahstan’s 6 million tpy Pavlodar refining and petrochemical complex following a fire that broke out at the facility on 25 October.

The fire, which occurred at 6.40 am local time in a furnace connected to the refinery’s fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU), was extinguished by 10 am, with no injuries reported.

Reconstruction and repair work on the impacted units are expected to last 20 -25 days and will include the complete replacement of the furnace’s internal structure.

Singapore

Singapore Refining Company has announced that it will shut a secondary unit at its 290 000 bpd refinery in Singapore’s Jurong Island this month.

The catalytic reformer will be shut down for 15 – 20 days, though the exact timeline for the maintenance or the capacity of the unit are not known.

Edited from various sources by Emma McAleavey.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/04112014/downstream-news-1559/