Project documentation for a new production facility (a combined oil refining unit, CORU) at the Gazprom Neft Moscow Refinery has received positive endorsement from Glavgosekspertiza.

The CORU is designed for the primary distillation of crude oil, and the production of high-octane Euro-5-standard gasoline and diesel fuels and vacuum gas oil. The new unit will replace outdated equipment, and will be fully compliant with current ecological standards.

The combined unit will comprise five key areas: a primary crude refining unit (CDU/VDU 6); a gasoline reforming unit; a diesel (distillate) hydro-treatment unit, complete with an iso-dewaxing unit; a gas fractionation unit; and an amine regeneration unit. The primary crude refining unit will have a total annual capacity of six million tonnes, while capacity at the gasoline reforming unit and the diesel hydro-treatment unit will be one and two million tonnes, respectively.

As a result of the CORU being brought into operation, annual refining volumes at the Moscow Refinery will increase to 12 million tonnes, matching the total installed capacity at the plant. Construction of the new complex will allow greater energy efficiency at the plant, increase inter-maintenance period from two to four years, and optimise available production floor space, through the decommissioning of outdated equipment. All of which will deliver significant ecological benefits, with the enterprise’s total environmental impact being reduced by 11.1 percent. Construction of the facility is expected to begin in late 2015, for completion in Q3 2018.

The transfer to production of Euro-5 standard fuels at the Moscow Refinery in 2013 has been the determining factor in improving environmental conditions here. Vehicle emissions currently account for 93 percent of all air pollution around the capital. The use of Euro-5-standard fuels will allow a five-fold reduction in vehicle emissions of sulphur compounds in comparison with Euro-4.

Gazprom Neft Deputy CEO for Logistics Refining and Sales Anatoly Cherner commented: “The start of project implementation on the combined oil refining unit marks the commencement of an active phase of the second stage of the modernisation programme at the Moscow Refinery, directed at improving refining depth and increasing the yield of light petroleum products.

“Starting project implementation on the CORU signals a new, active phase in the second stage of modernising the Moscow Refinery, directed at improving refining depth and increasing the proportional output of light petroleum products.

Bringing the complex into production will allow us to get closer to achieving those objectives outlined in the long-term development strategy of Gazprom Neft with regard to oil refining. Total production of light petroleum products will increase by more than 40 percent, while refining efficiency will increase by almost 20 percent. The start-up of this facility will allow us to continue the programme of continuous improvement in environmental performance that our company has been pursuing in recent years.”

About the the Moscow Refinery

A subsidiary of JSC Gazprom Neft, the Moscow Refinery has a total annual production capacity of 12.15 million tonnes per year, producing automotive fuels (gasoline), diesel, marine and aviation fuels, heating oil, high-octane additives for automotive gasolines, bitumens, and gases for various applications. The facility meets approximately 40 percent of local demand for oil products in the Moscow region.

A major modernisation programme is currently ongoing at the Moscow Refinery, directed at achieving European standards of production and ecological safety, together with integrated monitoring and control of environmental impacts.

About Gazprom Neft

Gazprom Neft is a vertically integrated oil company primarily engaged in oil & gas exploration and production (E&P), the sale and distribution of crude oil, and the production and sale of petroleum products.

The company’s proven SPE (PRMS) hydrocarbon reserves exceed 1.2 billion tonnes of oil equivalent (toe), placing it among the world’s 20 largest oil companies.

The company operates in many of Russia’s prominent oil and gas regions including Khanty-Mansiysk (Yugra), Omsk, Orenburg, Tomsk, and Yamalo-Nenets. Gazprom Neft’s major refining facilities are located in Moscow, Omsk, and Yaroslavl, and it also has refineries in Serbia. Apart from its upstream activities in Russia, the company is involved in international E&P, including projects in Iraq and Venezuela.

See the site of the Moscow Refinery