WORLD NEWS
November
2016
HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
5
Russia |
Grassroots
furnace supply
T
echnip has been awarded a
contract by Public Joint Stock
Company (PJSC) Kazanorgsintez to
provide the engineering and
procurement of three proprietary
SMK
TM
grassroots furnaces at Kazan,
Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. The
furnaces will be part of the ethylene
plant, which is located at the site.
This project represents another
step in Kazanorgsintez’s ongoing
cracking furnaces replacement
programme and confirms the
long standing relationship between
the two companies. In 2007 and 2015,
Technip supplied SMK double‑cell
cracking furnaces to Kazanorgsintez
with successful startup and operation.
This furnace type is particularly suitable
for cracking high capacity, low cost
ethane and propane gas feedstock.
Technip's operating centre in
Zoetermeer, the Netherlands, will
execute the project, which is
scheduled for mechanical completion
in 2018.
Technip is the world's largest
ethylene licensor and contractor. Its
SMK coil technology has been applied
in more than 100 installations around
the world, providing reliable, flexible
and highly selective solutions to
improve operational efficiency.
Argentina |
Hydrogen production project
A
ir Liquide has announced a new
investment for Axion Energy
Argentina, a subsidiary of Bridas
Corporation and a leading refiner in
Argentina, to expand its long term
supply of hydrogen. Air Liquide will
invest approximately
€
55 million in
a second hydrogen production unit
(steam methane reformer – SMR)
for Axion in Campana, Buenos Aires,
which will raise the hydrogen
production capacity of the site to
37 400 Nm³/hr.
Expected to start operations by
the second half of 2018, the new SMR
will supply additional hydrogen and
steam to Axion Energy. The hydrogen
supplied by Air Liquide will be used to
meet Axion’s increased needs for its
refinery processes, supporting its
recent investments to expand
operations in Campana.
Hydrogen used in the petroleum
refining process will allow for the
reduction of the sulfur content of the
produced fuels and meet the
environmental standards for cleaner
transportation fuels.
Carbon dioxide, a byproduct of the
production process, will also be
marketed for use by numerous local
customers.
The new SMR will be designed
and supplied by Air Liquide’s
Engineering & Construction teams,
offering energy efficiency as well as
optimal reliability and safety, and
will be owned and operated by
Air Liquide.
Saudi Arabia |
Refinery hydrocracking award
C
hevron Lummus Global LLC (CLG)
has announced the successful
proven operation of one of the world’s
largest hydrocracking plants by Yanbu
Aramco Sinopec Refining Company
(YASREF), a joint venture between
Aramco and Sinopec. The new
hydrocracker has a fresh feed design
capacity of 124 000 bpd and is located
at the Yanbu industrial city refinery
supersite in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia. The design uses CLG’s
maximum conversion ISOCRACKING
technology, and its two stage with
recycle configuration has proven to
minimise investment, while providing
maximum conversion of a challenging
feed blend.
YASREF operates its world class
400 000 bbl full conversion refinery on
the banks of the Red Sea. The
hydrocracking unit was commissioned
in September 2015, enabling YASREF to
produce 263 000 bpd of high quality
middle distillate products, Euro 5 diesel
fuel and aviation kerosene, mainly for
export purposes. CLG will continue to
work with YASREF and its parent
companies to maximise the long term
profitability of the hydrocracking unit.
Indonesia |
Technology licensing agreements
A
xens has announced the signature
of several technology licensing
agreements with Pertamina for its
major expansion project to upgrade
residue into gasoline in Balikpapan and
for a new middle distillate
hydrotreater in Cilacap, to comply
with new regulations.
The Balikpapan project consists of
a grassroots resid FCC unit (R2R
TM
) with
a designed capacity of 90 000 bpd, a
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sulfur
removal unit (Sulfrex
TM
), a propylene
recovery unit (PRU) as well as a new
80 000 bpd middle distillate
hydrotreater (Prime‑D
TM
). The gasoline
produced by the resid FCC unit will be
selectively hydrodesulfurised in a
Prime‑G+
TM
unit with a designed
capacity of 48 000 bpd to produce
ultra clean gasoline.
The Cilacap project consists of a
36 000 bpd grassroots Prime‑D
(distillate hydrotreater) unit, allowing
the production of ultra low sulfur
diesel.
The integration of Axens’ suite of
technologies, from the state of the art
resid FCC to the production of ultra
clean fuels thanks to technologies
such as Prime‑G+ and Prime‑D, will
enable Pertamina to significantly
reduce Indonesia’s dependence on
foreign imports of transportation fuels.
