Page 12 - FSUOGM Week 05 2021

FSUOGM PROJECTS & COMPANIES FSUOGM

Sibur sets sights on Arctic petrochems

RUSSIA RUSSIAN petrochemicals giant Sibur is eager to proposed complex would extract 2.3mn tonnes
develop projects in the Arctic, it has said, but it per year of ethane and 0.8mn tpy of liquefied
Sibur will need to band will need a partner to do so, as it lacks its own petroleum gas (LPG) from Gazprom’s giant
with a partner, as it resources in the region. Bovanenkovskoye field and other deposits in
lacks Arctic resources of “Sibur is looking into opportunities in the the area to produce 2.1mn tpy of polyethylene.
its own. Arctic but this does not rule out the possibility However, reports suggested Gazprom was
of projects which, given the level of resources reaching out to foreign partners such as Saudi
available to subsoil users in the Arctic region, Arabia’s SABIC to help realise the project instead
could well demonstrate adequate margins for of Sibur, which is by far Russia’s biggest petro-
gas processing and petrochemistry,” the com- chemicals producer. Sibur is currently ramping
pany said in a post on Twitter. “Due to the lack of up production at its flagship $9.5bn Zapsibneft-
its own resources in Yamal, Sibur can only act as ekhim project in Western Siberia, and recently
a potential partner in these projects.” closed the sale of a 40% interest in its Amur Gas
The company added that “discussions of Chemical Complex in the Far East to China’s
various options with market participants are Sinopec, bringing that venture closer to fruition.
ongoing, but further options still need to be Sibur has not publicly stated its interest in
explored.” Gazprom’s project on Yamal. And the compa-
Russian oil and gas producers are pushing ny’s latest comments run counter to past state-
into the Arctic with a raft of new projects, in ments it has made about the prospects for Arctic
order to offset production decline at their mature petrochemicals.
fields further south. At the same time, the gov- “The Arctic is known for its rich reserves
ernment is seeking to exploit more of the naph- of hydrocarbons, but the economic feasibility
tha and ethane found in hydrocarbon deposits to of building full-cycle gas processing facilities
build out Russia’s petrochemicals industry. directly in the region is questionable,” the com-
It was revealed last year that state-owned pany told Russia’s RBC newspaper in December.
Gazprom was drawing up plans for a $14bn pet- Such processing facilities would be needed to
rochemicals hub on the Yamal Peninsula. The create petrochemicals. ™

Lukoil launches $132mn

Volgograd refining unit

RUSSIA LUKOIL has brought on stream a RUB10bn overall solar power capacity at the refinery to
($132mn) new processing complex at its 300,000 30 MW.
The Volgograd refinery barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Volgograd, The Volgograd refinery is among Russia’s
is among Russia's most southern Russia. most efficient, largely thanks to the RUB172bn
efficient. The high-viscosity index oils production ($2.3bn) that Lukoil has invested in its modern-
complex includes de-asphalting and fraction- isation over the years. Its refining depth is esti-
ation units. Lukoil broke ground on the com- mated at 96.7%.
plex in October 2018, with the project serving Lukoil is making progress upgrading its other
as part of its programme to improve lubricant refineries in Russia as well. It expects to commis-
production. sion a new isomerisation unit and a 2.1mn tonne
This programme aims to deliver high-qual- per year (tpy) delayed coking unit by year-end
ity end products that comply with international at its 340,000 bpd refinery in Kstovo in Nizhny
environmental standards, helping Russia curb its Novgorod this year. These investments will
reliance on imports, Lukoil said. The high-vis- reduce the plant’s fuel oil production and boost
cosity base stocks that the new complex will the yield of more valuable light products such as
produce will enable the manufacture of engine gasoline and diesel.
oils with increased oxidation resistance suitable Lukoil also hired US firm Lummus Technol-
for use in industrial vehicles and cargo trucks ogy in September to provide technology for a
operating in cold temperatures, the company grassroots petrochemicals plant at the Kstovo
continued. facility. The $1bn plant is due to start working in
Lukoil is also working on the second stage 2023 and produce 500,000 tpy of polypropylene.
of a 20-MW solar power plant in Volgograd, It also intends to build a new bitumen produc-
due online in 2021. Its launch will bring tion train at the site. ™

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