Lukoil Neftochim Burgas selects Axens hydrocracker

Lukoil Neftochim Burgas AD has selected Axens to design and license technologies to convert Urals blend vacuum residue and gasoil (VGO) at its 165,000 barrel per day refinery in Burgas, Bulgaria

The heavy-ends upgrader combines a 47,000 bpd (2.5 million metric tons per year, MMTPA) H-Oil RC ebullated-bed vacuum residue hydrocracker and a 37,000 bpd (1.8 MMTPA) HyK single-stage high-conversion hydrocracker to produce a high quality slate of distillate products.

The feed for the HyK unit will be a 50/50 mixture of straight run and H-Oil produced VGOs.

The H-Oil RC, equipped with Axens' inter-stage separation (IS) and HyK units, will be integrated through a common hydrogen management scheme that minimises capital investment while enabling the independent operation of the two units.

The H-Oil RC unit will also benefit from cascade catalyst utilisation (CU) that minimises operating costs and maximises unit profitability.

The upgrader is scheduled to come on stream in 2012.

This will be the third H-Oil upgrader in Europe to operate on Urals blend and the first to integrate HyK technology: the first two installations were:.

1) The 34,000 bpd (1.8 MMTPA) PKN-Orlen unit in Plock, Poland has been operating for nearly ten years and has recently started up a Prime-D unit integrated with the H-Oil RC.

2) The 60,000 bpd (3.0 MMTPA) Mozyr unit was licensed in 2006 and also features an integrated Prime-D unit.

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