Lukoil adding catalytic cracking capacity at Perm refinery
PJSC Lukoil is advancing construction of a grassroots catalytic cracking complex at subsidiary LLC Lukoil -Permnefteorgsintez’s 13.1-million tonnes/year (tpy) refinery in Russia’s North Urals region, on the north bank of the Kama River.
Alongside its 1.8-million tpy catalytic cracking unit, the proposed complex also will include construction of a unit for production of high-octane gasoline components and associated off-site installations, Lukoil said on the 20th August.
The complex additionally will feature a high flexibility to adjust its yield of propylene, according to the operator.
Part of Lukoil’s ongoing programme to upgrade and modernise its Russian refining system to ensure long-term competitiveness and improve production qualities, the planned Perm catalytic cracking complex specifically aims to increase production of high-octane motor gasoline, as well as to begin production of polymer-grade propylene, which will be used as feedstock at the operator’s petrochemical production sites.
Scheduled for start-up in 2026, the new complex follows the Russian Ministry of Energy’s agreement to an incentive plan granting Lukoil an investment premium to the refundable excise tax on crude oil until the 1st January 2031, which will support completion of the project.
The Perm refinery currently has a catalytic cracking capacity of 9,300 b/d, according to the latest data available on the operator’s website.
In addition to commissioning new units earlier this year as part of its broader upgrading programme at subsidiaries OOO Lukoil -Volgogradneftepererabotka’s 14.8-million tpy Volgograd refinery in southern Russia and LLC Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez’s (NNOS) 17-million tpy Kstovo refinery in central Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, Lukoil said it also remains on schedule to fully commission NNOS’ long-planned deep conversion, delayed coking at Nizhny Novgorod by yearend.
Source: Oil & Gas Journal