The final stage of the reconstruction of bitumen production facilities at the Gazprom Neft Omsk Refinery has now begun. Thanks to extensive modernisation the facility will significantly reduce its environmental impacts, the run life will be increased from two years to four, and the range of traditional road bitumens will be increased from five brands to eleven. In particular, the facility will be equipped with an additional compound-filling (component mixing) block, allowing the production of high-performance bitumens. Total investment in the project stands at RUB 1.4 billion.

Reducing the environmental impacts of bitumen production is being made possible by changing the thermal transfer setup to avoid the use of waste water for cooling. Cutting-edge design solutions envisage the use of heat reclaimed from bitumen production to heat feed stock, as well as reducing steam consumption by 90 percent. The use of a closed-circuit cooling system will allow the outdated recycled water facility to be decommissioned.

Oleg Belyavsky, General Director of the Gazprom Neft Omsk Refinery, commented: “The reconstruction of bitumen facilities at the Omsk Refinery will see the production of new, higher-quality bitumen brands, meeting new government standards. Technological solutions developed in the course of the extensive modernisation of the plan will improve environmental friendliness in production. The use of a compact water recycling system will reduce the environmental impacts of the bitumen facility by one third.”

About the Gazprom Neft Omsk Refinery

The Gazprom Neft Omsk Refinery, a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft, is Russia’s largest such facility by refining volumes, and one of the most cutting-edge refineries in the country. The Omsk Refinery produces in the order of 50 types of oil products, including high-octane gasolines, diesel and marine (bunkering) fuels, aviation kerosene, bitumen, household gas, heavy fuel oil (mazut), industrial sulphur, and other products in line with market demand.

Gazprom Neft has been implementing an extensive modernisation programme at its Omsk Refinery since 2008. The first stage of modernisation of the Omsk Refinery, completed in 2015, involved the construction and refurbishment of key technological facilities, allowing the business to transition to 100-percent production of Euro-5 motor fuels, improve energy efficiency and reduce the environmental impacts of production. The facility is now implementing the second stage of its modernisation programme, the objective of which is to improve its performance in key performance indicators to match those of global industry leaders.

New production facilities will be built at the Omsk Refinery, and existing installations refurbished in line with the latest environmental, reliability and safety requirements for all production processes. Increasing the operational effectiveness of production processes is being addressed through process improvements and the implementation of new and innovative technologies.

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.