The Omsk refinery modernization programme goes ahead (Russia)

The Russian company Gazprom Neft (GN) started to build a new 2 Mt/year coker unit on the Omsk refinery (OR) site under the framework of the facility modernization programme. The construction is scheduled for completion in 2020 and the refinery will then be able to produce petroleum coke. The modernization programme of the OR is being implemented since 2008 and aims at completing the facility transition so that it can meet the Euro-4 and Euro-5 standards. Once completed, it will increase the facility's effieciency up to 97% and the output share of high-margin light oil products up to 80%.



The OR is the largest in terms of processing and one of the most modern refineries in Russia. The facility produces around 50 types of different petroleum products. In 2016, it increased production of gasoline by 6.6% up to 4.7 Mt/year, diesel fuel by 3.2% up to 6.5 Mt/year and bitumen products by 9.9% up to 430,000 t/year. In total, 20.5 Mt of crude oil were processed in 2016 and the output share of light oil products was increased to 70.92%.



According to the Ministry of Energy of Russia, the average refining depth in the country's processing facilities amounted to 79.2% in 2016, and the authorities expect that it will grow by another 1.7 percentage point - up to 80.9% in 2017. Russia is currently implementing a programme of technical re-equipment and overhaul of its oil refineries. To this end, in 2011, four-party agreements were signed between oil companies, FAS, Rostekhnadzor and Rosstandart. The oil companies have pledged to modernize their refineries to switch to the production of higher quality petroleum products and to provide the necessary volumes of their production and supply to the domestic market. The programme was scheduled for completion in 2015, but was postponed to 2020 due to a sharp drop in domestic processing margins.