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Refining and petrochemicals news catch up: EMEA

Hydrocarbon Engineering,


Azerbaijan

Starting this month, SOCAR are going to halt all operations at the Azerneftyaq refinery. The company has said that it is closing the facility as some of the business processes were being duplicated and therefore required additional costs that could be put to better use elsewhere.

Iran

It has been reported that Iran is going to reach a petrochemical output of 180 million t by 2022. This will be despite falling oil prices across the globe. The increase will be brought on as the market strives to meet demand levels for existing plants as well as those under construction.

The first phase of a petrochemical project in Mahabad is expected to be operational by the end of this Iranian calendar year. The inauguration of this project is expected to create many jobs and help expand the country petrochemicals sector.

Nigeria

The Joint Task Force (JTF) has said that in the months from March until December 24 2014, it destroyed over 840 illegal refineries as part of Operation Pulo Shield in the Niger Delta. The JTF also reported that in the same time period it impounded 53 vessels and 200 barges associated with illegal refining activity.

Russia

It has been reported that Russia’s oil refinery runs increased by 4.8% in November 2014 month on month. After the autumn maintenance season, outputs increased by 274 076 bpd and refineries processed 5.985 million bpd of crude oil. In October last year, Russia’s refineries only processed 5.712 million bpd.

A refinery in Moscow owned by Gazprom Neft has been fined US$1700 for environmental damage. An investigation into the damage was launched in November last year after a strong smell emerged and enveloped several districts in the city.

An agreement has been signed by the Boresov Institute of Catalysts, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia and the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. Under the agreement the institutions will look to establish a biorefinery for chemicals and fuel production from biomass as a way to beat diminishing reserves of crude oil supplies. The project will aim to develop a scientific basis for such a facility.

Saudi Arabia

Plans to build a clean fuels plant at the Saudi Aramco owned refinery in Ras Tanura have been abandoned. The US$2 billion plant was to include a naphtha hydrotreater and be part of the company’s second phase of upgrade works to its refineries due to be onstream in 2016.

Sources: Sputnik News, Tasnim news, Arab News, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide, Business Line, Vesrnik Kavkaza, Rapsi News, Daily Times Nigeria.


Edited from various sources by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/05012015/refining-petchem-emea-catchup/

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