REFINERY NEWS ROUNDUP: Maintenance coming to an end in Russia, Kazakhstan

Refinery maintenance in Russia and Kazakhstan is coming to an end, with Kazakhstan's Atyrau refinery having restarted most of its units and Russian plants expected back online during the first half of November.

Despite the end of turnarounds and subsequently growing products output, Russia is not planning to lift its gasoline export ban early, according to local media and market sources.

The energy ministry had previously been considering easing the ban starting in November once the market was well supplied, but those plans have now been shelved. Prices, especially in the retail sector, could rise if the ban, enforced until the end of the year, is lifted early. As a result, lifting the ban in December also becomes increasingly unlikely, with some in the market also suggesting it could be extended into early 2025.

Meanwhile, some exports of Russian gasoline continue as product heading to nearby countries under intergovernmental agreements has been exempt from the ban. There also have been reports by shipping sources of Russian gasoline exports by sea, primarily heading to the Mediterranean and North Africa.

Sources said this is most likely gasoline that does not meet the Euro 5 specifications, as the ban only affects Euro 5 gasoline, and the volumes had been significantly lower than exports prior to the ban.

Separately, Russia's Ufaneftekhim refinery was among energy facilities targeted by drone attacks late Oct. 31, Russia's RBC daily reported Nov. 1.

Ufaneftekhim, with 9.5 million mt/year (190,000 b/d) capacity is part of the Ufa refining hub in the Republic of Bashkortostan, which also comprises the Novoil and Ufa (Ufimsky) refineries. Three drones attacked an industrial energy site in Ufa, the local governor Radii Khabirov said in a Telegram post Nov. 1, without specifying the sites. Khabirov said that one of the drones fell on the industrial site and resulted in shattered windows in the control room, while two others fell within the industrial zone. The facilities continued to operate normally, Khabirov said.

In other news, a fire at Azerbaijan's Heydar Aliyev refinery in Baku was extinguished Oct. 22, the country's Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement. The ministry said that it quickly extinguished a fire at the state-owned refinery, located in the Nizami district of the Azerbaijani capital.

The fire broke out in the plant's coking unit.

Russian petrochemicals producer Sibur has launched a new naphtha-based petrochemical plant, it said Oct. 28. The EP-600 plant is located in Nizhnekamsk, western Russia. It will produce benzene, propylene, ethylene, pyrolysis resins and solvents, polystyrene, natural gas and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. The naphtha nameplate capacity will be 1.8 million mt/year, while PE, PS and ABS capacities are estimated to be 650,000 mt/year.

Kazakh energy producer KazMunayGas and French company Axens have signed a cooperation agreement to explore the production of sustainable aviation fuel together in Kazakhstan, KMG said Nov. 4. The partnership with Axens, which makes systems to convert oil and biomass to cleaner fuels, will attract investment in Kazakhstan’s energy sector, introduce advanced technologies and produce high-quality fuel that meets modern environmental standards, KMG head Askhat Khasenov said in a statement.

New and ongoing maintenance

Refinery	Capacity b/d	Country	Owner	Units	Duration
Shebelinka	11,500	Ukraine	Naftogaz	Halted	ongoing
Kremenchuk	240,000	Ukraine	UkrTatNafta	Halted	ongoing
Novokuybishev	166,000	Russia	Rosneft	Full	Back
Novoil	142,000	Russia	Rosneft	Part	Sep
Ufaneftekhim	190,000	Russia	Rosneft	Part	Sep
Angarsk	204,000	Russia	Rosneft	Full	Back
Ukhta	80,000	Russia	Lukoil	Full	Sep

Upgrades

Mariisky	34,000	Russia	New Stream	CDU, VDU	NA
Omsk	428,000	Russia	Gazprom Neft	Upgrade	ongoing
Moscow	243,000	Russia	Gazprom Neft	Upgrade	2025
Taneco	178,000	Russia	Tatneft	Upgrade	NA
Haydar Aliev	120,000	Azerbaijan	Socar	Upgrade	Ongoing
Turkmenbashi	210,000	Turkmenistan	Turkmenistan	Coker	NA
Afipsky	120,000	Russia	SAFMAR	Upgrade	NA
Ilsky (Yilsky)	132,000	Russia	KNGK-Group	Upgrade	NA
Orsk	120,000	Russia	Forte invest	Upgrade	2023
Bukhara	50,000	Uzbekistan	Uzbekneftegaz	Upgrade	NA
Fergan	109,000	Uzbekistan	Uzbekneftegaz	Upgrade	NA
Yanos	314,000	Russia	Slavneft	Upgrade	2024
Novoshakhtinsky	100,000	Russia	Yug Energo	Upgrade	2027
Antipinsky	180,000	Russia	Socar Energ	Upgrade	NA
Salavat	200,000	Russia	Gazprom	Upgrade	NA
Pavlodar	100,000	Kazakhstan	KazMunaiGaz	Upgrade	NA
Ryazan	342,000	Russia	Rosneft	Upgrade	NA
Achinsk	150,000	Russia	Rosneft	Upgrade	NA
Tuapse	240,000	Russia	Rosneft	Upgrade	NA
Novokuybishev	164,000	Russia	Rosneft	Upgrade	NA
Komsomolsk	160,000	Russia	Rosneft	Upgrade	NA
Syzran	178,300	Russia	Rosneft	Upgrade	NA
Perm	262,000	Russia	Lukoil	Upgrade	2025
Jalal-Abad	10,000	Kyrgyzstan	Kyrgyzneftegaz	Upgrade	NA
Kirishi	420,000	Russia	Surgutneftegaz	Upgrade	NA
Angarsk	204,000	Russia	Rosneft	Upgrade	NA
Yaisky	60,000	Russia	Neftechimservis	Upgrade	2026
Shymkent	120,000	Kazakhstan	PetroKazakhstan	Expansion	2029

Launches

Khabarovsk	100,000	Russia	IPC	Launch	NA
Kulevi	80,000	Georgia	Fazis Oil	Launch	2024
Primorsk region	240,000	Russia	Rosneft	Launch	2029
Sakhalin	90,000	Russia	Gazprom	Launch	NA

New and ongoing maintenance

New and revised entries

** Russia's Novokuybishev refinery, part of the Samara refinery hub, is expected back in the beginning of November after full maintenance which started in the second half of September.

** Partial works, that have been underway at Ryazan since August, are due to be completed in the first half of November.

** Russia's Angarsk refinery in Siberia completed its maintenance in late October. It has been carrying out maintenance since late August. One of the two crude distillation units is affected.

** Partial works will continue in November and December at refineries from the Ufa refinery hub, which includes the Novoil, Ufaneftekhim and Ufa (Ufimsky) plants.

** The hydrocracker at Volgograd refinery is expected back in early November.

** Norsi refinery is expected to restart its CDU, reformer and delayed coker in early November.

** Russia's export-oriented Tuapse refinery is due to restart imminently and be back by Nov. 10, according to market sources. The refinery was previously expected to remain offline throughout November after halting operations in early October. The refinery stopped processing due to unplanned maintenance, sources said.

** Kazakhstan's Atyrau refinery said Nov. 4 it its main units were operating normally after the planned maintenance. The units that have been restarted include primary processing units 2 and 3, (ELOU-AT-2 and ELOU-AVT-3", catalytic reformer, catalytic cracker, sulfur unit and naphtha hydrotreater.

Its daily processing rate is 14,380 mt, and since the beginning of the month it has processed 43,800 mt of feedstock.

The refinery however noted that during its planned maintenance additional work was identified and needed to be done on the delayed coker unit which is currently underway. The unit will be restarted "in the near future," it said.

Earlier, Kazakhstan's Orda.kz news outlet reported that the refinery is struggling to restart the delayed coker unit in a safe manner.

On Nov. 1, KazMunaiGaz chair Askhat Khasenov visited the refinery and asked its management to complete in timely manner the restart procedures and resume stable operations by ensuring the "safety of all production processes".

The refinery said Oct. 23 it was restarting units after completing the full maintenance ahead of schedule. It said it had already restarted the CDU-VDU-3 unit (ELOU-AVT-3), the catalytic reformer, the sulfur unit, gasoil, naphtha, gasoline and diesel hydrotreaters and was in the process of restarting the CDU-2 (ELOU-AT-2) unit, as well as the catalytic cracker and LPG desulfurizer.

** Russia Salavat refinery is expected back from planned maintenance by the end of October, according to market sources. The refinery has been carrying out maintenance since late September on a CDU-VDU unit, ELOU-AVT-4, isomerization, hydrotreater, reformer and platformer, according to its website.

Existing entries

** Belarus' Naftan refinery has completed part of its planned maintenance, it said Sept. 23. Works on the delayed coker complex have been completed. Separately, the maintenance of the hydrocracker, set for October, will include six units, including hydrogen, sulfur, dewaxing and visbreaker. The works are scheduled to last 30-58 days.

** Russia's Ukhta refinery is halting sales of oil products on Spimex from Sept. 16 due to planned maintenance works, according to market sources. Gasoline sales will remain suspended until Nov. 11 and diesel sales until Nov. 24.

** Ukraine's Kremenchuk refinery was the target of a Russian attack July 6, when storage reserves were hit by a strike on the site, Russia's RIA Novosti reported, following earlier reports by the Russian defense ministry about hitting an unspecified refinery in Ukraine. Kremenchuk, Ukraine's largest refinery, was once the country's key supply outlet for diesel and gasoline yet has largely suspended operations due to several Russian attacks since April 2022, most recently in January 2024. Kremenchuk is capable of processing about 12 MMt of crude, but prior to the invasion in February 2022 was refining around 2.5 MMt.

Industry sources said Ukraine has been using different Kremenchuk installations for limited production of diesel and for storage to support the country's war effort.

** As of 2028, all the three Kazakhstan refineries will move to conducting maintenance halts every three years rather than once a year, KMG said.

** Shebelinka GPP, Ukraine's second-largest producer of diesel and gasoline, which operates under the Shebel brand name, suspended operations Feb. 26, 2022.

Upgrades

Existing entries

** The Jalal-Abad refinery in Kyrgyzstan started upgrading over the weekend in the presence of Kyrgyzneftegaz's president Sadyr Zhaparov, the presidency said in a statement in September 2024. The 1996-built refinery, operated by Kyrgyz Petroleum Company, produces gasoline 80 RON, diesel and fuel oil.

According to the statement, the refinery can meet 6.5% of Kyrgyzstan's 1.4 MMt/y gasoline and diesel consumption. After the upgrade, Jalal-Abad will be able to meet 32% of the domestic demand and will start producing high-quality fuel meeting the Eurasian Economic Union standards, such as gasoline 92 and 95 RON.

** Russia's Taneco refinery is expected to launch its new hydrocracker by the end of 2024, local media reports said in September. The second hydrocracker has a 1.2 MMt/y VGO feedstock capacity and its launch will further increase the refinery's depth of processing, S&P Global Commodity Insights reported earlier. The refinery has a 2.9 MMt hydrocracker. Jet fuel output will rise by 21,100 metric tons per month and diesel output by 56,600 metric tons per month.

** Russia's Rosatom said in August it had built a reactor for a new kerosene and diesel hydrotreater at the Novoshakhtinsky refinery. The unit will have a capacity of around 2.2 MMt/y and will allow the refinery to produce intermediate diesel meeting Euro 5 specifications. Novoshakhtinsky is undergoing large-scale upgrades. In addition to the hydrotreater, it is building a gasoline complex, slated to produce around 670,000-680,000 t/y, although both projects have been delayed. It also expects to launch a deep-processing complex, which includes a hydrocracker and delayed coker.

Following the completion of the upgrades, which are part of the third stage of modernization, the refinery will be able to produce up to 3.2 MMt of diesel and 400,000 metric tons of petroleum coke.

** Russian engineering company TopTech said July 2024 it had started work on a project to build a diesel hydrotreater and dewaxer unit at the Tomsk refinery in Siberia. The unit is part of the refinery's program for increasing the depth of processing and widening the product yield. The unit will produce summer, winter and arctic diesel grades. The project is due to be completed by the end of 2024.

** Russia's Lukoil is looking at further upgrades to its Volgograd refinery, the Kommersant daily reported July 11. The project includes a deep processing complex for the production of 1.2 MMt of diesel, including 500,000 metric tons of winter diesel for domestic consumption. As part of the upgrade, Lukoil is considering building a dewaxing unit and lubes hydroisomerization unit. The upgrade would help address the problem of winter diesel shortages, Kommersant said. As a result of the upgrade work, the refinery will be able to produce 200,000 metric tons per year of lubricants.

** China's CNPC is in talks with Kazakhstan over new terms for the expansion of the Shymkent refinery which it owns jointly with Kazakh state-owned KazMunaiGaz (KMG), mulling scaling down the latest plans, which envisage a capacity increase from 6 MMt to 12 MMt, according to sources familiar with the subject, as feedstock supply is the key challenge for the project. The Shymkent refinery expansion project is still being finalized, the KMG press office said. At the moment, the plan is to boost capacity to 12 MMt by 2030. According to KMG the refinery is expected to source crude oil from the Kumkol and Aktobe deposits in western Kazakhstan as well as from new large deposits due to become operational in the coming years.

** Russia's Ilsky refinery plans to commission its new gasoline and aromatics complex by December 2025, Interfax reported July 2024. Work on the new 1.5 MMt complex, which includes CCR and isomerization units, first began in 2021 and was set to be commissioned in 2023, however Western sanctions imposed in 2022 stalled it. Once online, the new complex will be capable of producing Euro-5 gasoline, high-octane components, LPG and xylene, the company previously announced, making it one of the region's largest producers. Currently, the project is in the active phase of construction, and works are underway on the complex's boiler room, nitrogen production plant and water recycling unit, KNGK told Interfax.

Separately, Ilsky is also building a 2.4 MMt complex for diesel hydrotreatment and dewaxing aimed to be completed in 2027.

** The upgrade of the Omsk refinery has been completed in 2023 and will finish in 2025 at the Moscow refinery, Gazprom Neft's CEO Alexander Dyukov said during a June 2 meeting with President Vladimir Putin. As a result of the modernization Omsk has reached 99% depth of processing and Moscow will reach the same depth upon its completion. Omsk has increased the range of products as a result of its upgrades, including lubricants, bitumen, needle coke, catalysts.

Moscow refinery is currently building a deep processing complex to allow it to cut fuel oil output. So far, the refinery has been 80% upgraded. The deep processing complex, which includes delayed coker, hydrogen and hydrocracker units, is due for completion in 2025. The delayed coker, which will have a 2.4 MMt capacity, will enable the refinery to increase the production of road fuels and start producing petroleum coke. The 2 MMt hydrocracker, a sulfur production unit and a hydrogen unit are also part of the complex.

** Azerbaijan's Heydar Aliyev refinery has started production of Euro 5 gasoline, plant owner Socar announced June 30. The state-owned company said that it had almost completed work on the initial stage of reconstruction of the refinery and that work on the diesel and gasoline units had now been completed. As a result, the AI-92 and AI-95 brand gasoline produced at the refinery have been brought up to Euro 5 standards and will replace imported 95 RON gasoline, Socar said.

The Heydar Aliyev refinery has been undergoing a full reconstruction and modernization since 2015 which will increase the plant's overall capacity from 6 MMt to 7.5 MMt, and the capacity of the catalytic cracker from 2 MMt to 2.5 MMt. The work involves the merging, modernization and reconstruction of two existing refineries, the Azerneftyag and Baku plants, with the shutting of some units and the addition of some new units. The first stage of the revamp was completed in December 2018 with the commissioning of a new 400,000 t/y bitumen plant followed by an LPG unit, after which the plant began again supplying the adjacent Azerkimya petrochemical plant with raw materials

** Uzbekistan's largest oil refinery, Fergana, plans to double its capacity to further 4 MMt through 2030, following the recent round of modernization slated to be completed by the end of 2024, Sanoat Energetika Guruhi Saneg press office said June 2024. Following the current modernization, the Fergana crude oil processing is set to rise to 2 MMt from 1.3 MMt, Saneg said, adding it aimed to ramp up crude oil production in the country to secure local feedstock supply to the facility.

Under the current modernization project, worth $350 million, the Fergana refinery is targeting increasing the refining depth from 84% to 93% and expanding the range of oil products, Saneg said. In addition to switching from Euro 2 to Euro 5 gasoline production standards, Fergana is due to add Jet A-1 fuel to its production portfolio and start manufacturing Group II+/III lubricants.

As part of the Fergana modernization plan, by the end of 2024, Saneg plans to launch a steam boiler house, a hydrogen production unit and pressure-cycle adsorption (PSA) unit. The construction of five new technological installations and the reconstruction of 10 existing installations and refinery facilities are also underway, the company said.

** Russia's Slavyansk refinery, a small export-oriented plant on the Black Sea, has pushed back the schedule for completing its high-octane gasoline complex, it said on its website May 2024. The refinery is planning to launch the complex in 2025, having previously been slated for launch in 2024. Slavyansk is also planning to build a deep processing complex, a dewaxing unit and a distillate hydrotreater.

** Russia's Afipsky refinery and the regional government have signed an agreement about the next stage of the refinery's modernization, according to the Krasnodar regional governor. The plan includes completing in 2025 a deep processing complex, which will produce 2.5 MMt of Euro 5 fuel, local media reported. The complex, which includes a hydrocracker, was due to be completed in 2023. The upgrades will raise the depth of processing to 99.2% from 80.7%. The Afipsky refinery is also planning construction of a 1.6 MMt delayed coker. The Krasnodar refinery specializes in primary processing and Afipsky in secondary processing, after owner Safmar Group completed the reorganization of the two southern plants by merging them in May 2021.

** Uzbekistan's Bukhara refinery will help the government to achieve its plan to switch from Euro 2 to Euro 5 high-octane gasoline, Uzbekneftegaz said April 26. The refinery is expected to produce 60% 92 RON and 40% 95 RON with all the gasoline output of 1 MMt meeting the Euro 5 standard. As a result, the country will stop the use of 80 RON Euro 2 gasoline. France's Axens will design the technological units, which will include a naphtha hydrotreater with 360,000 t/y capacity, isomerization unit with 380,000 t/y capacity and a selective hydrogenation of pyrolisis distillate unit with 60,000 t/y capacity. The design documentation is expected to take around five-and-a-half months.

Bukhara refinery will also use Honeywell UOP technology to increase crude conversion and produce Euro-5 standard gasoline and diesel. Honeywell will provide "licensing and basic engineering design services" for a new naphtha hydrotreater, RFCC, SelectFining and Merox units. The existing diesel hydrotreater will be revamped.

** Turkmenistan's two refineries, Turkmenbashi and Seydi, have been undergoing upgrades. The Turkmenbashi refinery is building a delayed coker and a solvent deasphalter unit whose construction started in 2019. Seydi is building a new reforming unit and expanding its capacity.

** Belarus's Mozyr and Naftan refineries are considering further upgrades, mostly in the petrochemical sector. Mozyr plans to start propylene output in 2025 and polypropylene from 2028. In addition, it plans to launch a gasoline alkylation complex in 2030. Naftan is also looking to build a new ethylene-propylene unit at the Polymir facility, which will enable it to replace outdated equipment. As part of their upgrade, Mozyr commissioned a new hydrocracker in June 2023 and Naftan launched its delayed coker in early 2022.

** Russia's Orsk was expecting to start testing its new gasoline and diesel hydrotreater at the end of 2023. It continues work on its delayed coker complex, which is part of its upgrade, by currently installing the delayed coker furnace. The deep processing complex includes a 1.2 MMt delayed coker and a gasoline dewaxer with 600,000 t/y capacity. Construction is due to be completed by the end of 2023 and the delayed coker is expected to be commissioned at the beginning of 2024. Previously, its launch had been planned for the end of 2023. The whole complex will be launched in Q1 2025.

** Russia's Afipsky refinery is continuing with its upgrades, according to the Krasnodar regional governor in September 2023. Construction is underway on a hydrocracker, whose launch will increase the refinery's depth of processing. The upgrades will raise the depth of processing to 99.2% from 80.7% and enable the production of Euro 5 diesel. The hydrocracker had been due for completion in 2023 but Russian refinery upgrades have faced delays. The Afipsky refinery is planning construction of a 1.6 MMt delayed coker. Russia's Glavgosexpertiza, the state construction and engineering auditor, has approved the construction of a gasoline stabilization unit at the Afipsky refinery which will produce feedstock for hydrogen production. Safmar Group has reorganized two of its refineries by merging the Krasnodar refinery with the Afipsky refinery in southern Russia, which retains the name Afipsky refinery. The Krasnodar refinery will specialize in primary processing and the Afipsky refinery in secondary processing.

** Rosneft plans to construct a hydrocracker complex at the Ryazan refinery. The new complex, with a 2.2 MMt capacity, will help the refinery to increase the depth of processing and achieve higher margins through the conversion of heavy into light products. It will include a hydrocracker, as well as hydrogen and sulfur units.

** Russia's Yaisky is carrying out the third phase of its upgrade, after works started in April. It plans to complete in 2027 a dewaxing complex with 2.5 MMt capacity and a delayed coker with 1.15 MMt capacity. The commissioning of those complexes will increase its depth of processing to 93% and enable it to produce diesel with improved cold properties, it said on its website.

** Russia's Novatek has launched a new hydrocracking unit at its Ust-Luga gas condensate fractionation facility, it said June 14. Separately, Novatek CEO Leonid Mikhelson told local media June 14 the company planned to launch the third stage of the gas condensate fractionation and transshipment complex in Ust-Luga in the middle of 2024, enabling it to process more of its gas condensate output.

** Russia's Salavat refinery said it has signed an investment agreement with the government of the Republic of Bashkortostan to upgrade and expand its reformer unit. The agreement foresees doubling the capacity of the L-35/11-1000 reformer unit to 2 MMt. The reformer, which was commissioned in 1978, has 1 MMt capacity. After the upgrade, it will process additionally at least 1 MMt naphtha. The upgrade will also involve the reconstruction of the unit's equipment and the building of an amine gas-treating unit.

** Kazakhstan's KazMunaiGaz and Air Liquide signed an agreement June 8 for the construction of a hydrogen unit at the Pavlodar refinery, KMG said. The hydrogen unit will allow the refinery to produce up to 160,000 t/y winter diesel. Separately, Pavlodar is looking to build a unit for the purification of LPG and has selected Merox technology.

** Russia's Novokuybishev aims to complete the construction of the hydrocracker and launch it in test mode by the end of 2022-early 2023, according to local media reports, citing a refinery source. Construction started in 2021.

** Russia's Syzran refinery has completed assembling the catalytic distillation column at a new MTBE unit. The MTBE units along with an FCC complex under construction form part of the refinery's modernization project. Once the new units are completed, the refinery will significantly increase the output of high-octane gasoline.

** Russia's Komsomolsk carries out a large-scale project involving the construction of a hydrocracker and hydrotreater with a 3.65 MMt capacity, which will enable it to increase the output of Euro 5 diesel. Once launched, the refinery's depth of processing will increase to 92%.

** Lukoil plans to build a new integrated MTBE and alkylation plant at its Perm refinery in Russia, as well as new FCC and Merox units. Lukoil will build a catalytic cracker complex at the plant. The complex will have a 1.8 MMt feedstock capacity. It will include a catalytic cracker and a high-octane gasoline components unit. The complex is expected to be launched in 2026 and will increase the output of high-octane gasoline. It will also allow the refinery to produce propylene to be used as petrochemical feedstock.

** Russia's Angarsk has started assembling the main column at the catalytic cracker complex. The assembly of the column is part of the refinery's upgrade. The GK-3 unit is aimed to process 130 t/hour vacuum gasoil and 520 t/h desalted crude oil will produce over 43 components.

** Russia's Kirishi plans to upgrade for "the conversion of heavy oil residues."

** Russia's Yanos refinery in Yaroslavl has started building a delayed coker complex. As a result, it will halt fuel oil output. Its depth of processing will exceed 99% and light products yield 70%. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2024. The complex will be built in two stages. Initially, a delayed coker will be built which will enable the processing of more than 3.4 MMt of heavy fractions, followed by a naphtha hydrotreater and light gasoil coker. They will provide feedstock for gasoline and diesel.

** Russia's Achinsk refinery will increase its depth of processing to over 95% and the light products yield to 88% upon completion of its upgrades, which will lead to the almost complete halt of fuel oil output. It is building a hydrocracker with an integrated hydrotreater. Its launch will enable it to almost double the output of motor fuel aimed at covering domestic demand predominantly in Siberia and the Far East. It is also building a delayed coker complex.

** Russia's Rosneft is working toward launching the hydrocrackers that it has built at four of its refineries -- Achinsk, Komsomolsk, Novokuybishev and Tuapse. Rosneft is expanding the capacity of its existing delayed coker at Novokuybishev. Rosneft plans to complete its refinery modernization program by 2025. The program includes the construction and reconstruction of over 50 units, with work on more than 30 of the units having been finished.

** Kyrgyzneftegaz plans to upgrade its Jalal-Abad refinery. Its strategy involves a unit for the secondary processing of fuel oil.

** The launch of four secondary units at the Mariisky refinery has been delayed. As per plans, after upgrades, it expects to increase the AT-2's capacity to 1.4 MMt from 900,000 t/y and the VDU capacity to 1 MMt from 476,000 t/y.

** The next stage of upgrades at the Antipinsky refinery in Russia involves increasing the capacity of crude and refined product pipelines. Antipinsky, which can process 9 million-9.5 MMt of crude, currently receives 7.5 MMt of crude.

Launches

New and revised entries

** Georgia's new Kulevi refinery will start operations in March 2025 and will initially process 1.2 million mt of crude oil annually, the government said late Oct. 22. The refinery will gradually increase processing to 4 million mt/year and is expected by the end of 2028 to fully implement "high-tech processing," the government said after the presentation of the Kulevi refinery project.

Black Sea Petroleum will be supplying products to the local market, as well as export "to Europe and other markets of the world," Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze was quoted as saying, adding that the refinery is the "largest private investment project in the history of independent Georgia."

Black Sea Petroleum was not immediately available to comment.

The refinery will be situated in Kulevi near the Kulevi oil terminal.

Existing entries

** Tajikistan hopes that with the help of Russia's Tatneft it can launch the already built refinery in Dangar, TASS news agency reported, citing the country's industry minister Sherali Khabir. Khabir said Tatneft's expertise could help in the plant's launch.

The construction of the 1.2 MMt/y refinery in Dangar started in 2014 and was completed in 2018 although the launch has been postponed due to a lack of crude oil.

** Russia's Khabarovsk refinery aims to complete its upgrade in 2024, Interfax news agency quoted the local governor, Mikhail Degtyarev, as saying. The upgrade will involve the construction of a vacuum gasoil hydrotreater and hydrogen production unit. The upgrade will increase the refinery's depth of processing and result in a higher output of diesel as well as International Maritime Organization-compliant marine fuel. The company has previously announced plans to double the refinery's capacity to 10 MMt and build an FCC, hydrotreater and delayed coker.

** Russia's Gazprom is mulling the possibility of building a refinery in Russia's Far East, on the island of Sakhalin, according to media reports. The company is expected to prepare an investment decision in 2023, according to the local government. The new refinery, with a 4.5 million metric tons capacity, is likely to process gas condensate and produce gasoline, diesel and kerosene.

** Russia's Rosneft could launch a planned new refinery as part of its VNHK (East petrochemical complex) in the Far East in 2029 and a petrochemical plant in 2026. The Far East refinery is planned to process 12 MMt of crude, while the petrochemical plant will have a 3.4 MMt capacity. Production will include 1.8 MMt of gasoline, 6.3 MMt of diesel and 4.5 MMt of petrochemical products.