Installation of retarded coking unit is carried out at TRC

Consortium of WTL (FZE) from UAE and Westport Trading Europe Limited from USA has started installation of the retarded coking unit (RCU) at Turkmenbashy Refinery Complex.

General Contractor, the company from USA, winner of the tender for completion of construction of the RCU, is a well-known in Turkmen oil and gas market. Its projects include commissioning of the unit for production of 37,200 tons high-quality road bitumen per year and reconstruction of reforming equipment for production of high-octane gasoline at Seydi Refinery. It has to build the complex of two units – retarded coking and de-asphalting of tar, at TRC. The main objective of the units is to process heavy remains of tar and heavy fuel.

Design capacity of new equipment, which is licensed and developed by the leading in the sphere Foster Wheeler, is 900,000 tons of production per year.in addition to total petroleum coke, it will produce liquefied petroleum gas, which after the treatment will go to the unit for production of sale liquefied gas, which is exported.

Coke gasoline, produced at the RCU, is a component for production of A-80 gasoline or can be used as a material for production of high-octane gasoline. Light coke gasoil will also go to the unit of hydro treatment of diesel fuel, which will produce Euro 5 motor fuel. Heavy coke gasoil will be used as a material for catalyst cracking unit at the refinery.

Tar de-asphalting unit with production capacity of 500,000 tons uses the remains of vacuum refining of heavy fuel as a raw material. It will make a product that is used in production of viscous lubricating oil as well as a material for existing catalyst cracking units.

Opportunity of maxim utilization of equipment for putting of additional section for production of needle coke, which is the main material for production of super powerful graphite electrodes used mainly in metallurgy, into production is provided for future installation. Making of new petroleum product will allow Turkmenistan entering international market with high-quality commodity, which is on high demand in India, China, EU and CIS countries and other regions of the world.

Therefore, new unit will be able to increase effectiveness of production, having increased processing level of TRC by 10 – 20 percent and, and to provide production of light petroleum products with high added value.

By suggestion of the designers, advanced practice of the leaders in oil refinery and equipment production will be used during construction. In particular, automatic mechanisms of opening and closing of top and lower hatches of coke chambers, which excludes manual handling during preparation of reactors for offloading of coke, are provided.

After commissioning of new unit, which construction is planned to be accomplished in 2020, TRC will increase production of petroleum coke, gasoline, liquefied gas and high-quality road bitumen.