Petrobrazi Oil Refinery, Romania

The Petrobrazi crude oil refinery in Romania is situated near Ploiesti in Prahova County. It is owned by OMV Petrom.

The capacity of the refinery is 4.5 million tons per annum (mtpa) which is being increased to 4.2mtpa as part of a modernisation program. The modernisation will be completed by 2014.

Output

The refinery produces gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel Jet A-1, automotive liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), heavy fuel oil, LPG-aragaz and light fuel oil. It also produces benzene, toluene, propylene and special products including sulphur and petroleum coke.

Extensions / developments

OMV Petrom planned the 2010-2015 modernisation program at a cost of more than €1bn to increase the capacity of refinery to 6mtpa. The program was, however, downsized due to poor market conditions. The extension was reduced to 4.2mtpa from the planned 6mtpa. The investment was, as a result, reduced to €750m and the program scheduled for completion by 2014.

The project scope will include modernisation of the vacuum and atmospheric distillation unit, increase of VGO conversion capacity, coker unit revamp, DGRS modernisation, reducing SOx and NOx emissions, and building a new hydrocracker unit.

Foster Wheeler was awarded a contract in April 2010 for the front-end engineering design (FEED) modification services, overhaul of the vacuum and atmospheric distillation unit, and expansion of the delayed coker unit.

The extended refinery will feature an 860MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant (CCPP) to generate electricity using natural gas. The natural gas will be supplied through an underground pipeline to be built at Butimanu, Dambovita County. It is envisaged that about 20% of the power will be consumed by the refinery and the remaining will be transmitted to the National Grid.

Construction of the power plant began in December 2008. The plant is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2011 at an investment €500m.

Connection

Crude oil from Petrom's oil fields is transferred to the refinery through pipeline connections. The crude imported from Kazhkstan is first stored at Constanta Oil Terminal and then transferred to the refinery through a pipeline with a capacity of 10,000tpd.

Design

The refinery is designed to process heavy vacuum gas oil with 86% conversion capability. The products meet the global emission standards of Euro V, which facilitates the plant to access global markets. It also aids in upgrading the plant with further investments when the country adopts global emission standards.

Construction and infrastructure

Built on a 520ha industrial site, the refinery was commissioned in 1934. In 1962, it became the first Romanian refinery to be installed with catalytic cracking and reforming processes. A petrochemical complex was added in 1965. The diesel hydrotreating unit revamp was set-up in 2007.

A hydro-sulphur extraction equipment was installed at an investment of €5m in April 2008. The refinery has a partial transition hydrocracking unit, a fluid catalytic cracker, coker unit and a naptha isomerization unit.

A €34m refurbishment project began in 2009. It includes refurbishing API separators, reforming biological treatment through new measurement equipment and renovating sewerage system.

Uhde started the construction of the fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) post-treatment plant at the Petrobrazi Refinery in 2008 to reduce sulphur content in gasoline production.

The FCC Plant was commissioned in March 2009 at a cost of €90m. It produces 700,000t of Euro V gasoline per year.

Technology

Haldor Topsoe signed a contract with Petrom in December 2007 to install a 34,000 BPSD grassroots hydrocracker unit along with the hydrogen plant at the Petrobrazi refinery. Petrom selected the Haldor Topsoe's hydrocracking technology as the optimised solution for raising production in the refinery.

The hydrocracking technology transforms heavy vacuum gasoil and heavy coker gas oil into superior quality diesel, gasoline, jet fuel products as well as petrochemical products. Topsoe offers basic engineering design and technical services to the refinery.

Contractors

Falck will provide fire fighting services at the refinery.