On June 30, the Shymkent Refinery commissioned a large process facility, which is the isomerisation unit for light gasoline fractions with a pre-hydrotreating block and produced the first certified batch of motor gasolines as per K4 and K5 emission standards. This ended the first stage of the Shymkent Refinery Modernisation and Reconstruction Project.
Akim (Governor) of the South Kazakhstan region Zhanseit Tuimebayev, Senior Vice President for Oil and Gas Processing of Kazmunaygas Daniyar Tiyessov, General Director of CNPC in Kazakhstan Bian Dezhi, PKOP top management represented by President Jiang Shi and First Vice President Askar Turisbekov, as well as representatives of a number of subcontracting companies participated in the launch ceremony.
Adding this unit with a capacity of 600,000 tonnes a year to the refinery process scheme will increase the production of high-octane gasolines meeting up-to-date emission standards by 460,000 tonnes a year.
Pre-commissioning works began March 31 and implementation of the modernisation project began in January 2014. That was preceded by a feasibility study, estimates and state reviews.
The project created 2,500 construction-phase jobs and over 100 permanent jobs for the operation of the first stage facilities, including 45 for the isomerisation unit. Professional training of employees was arranged at the Atyrau Refinery and the Guangxi Refinery in China.
In April 2017, Kazakh Minister of Energy Kanat Bozumbayev inspected the facilities of the first stage of the modernisation and instructed to ensure production of high-octane gasolines of K4 and K5 emission standards by July 2017. The refinery has met the deadline.
On June 23, the first on-spot oil product loading unit with the capacity of 2.5 million tonnes/year, ensuring closed-dome loading of oil products into rail tank cars, was put into operation in Kazakhstan. Also, within the framework of the first modernisation stage a Diesel Hydrotreater with the capacity of 1.5 million tonnes/year, a sulphur plant with the capacity of 4,000 tonnes per year and off-sites have been already put into operation.
Currently, the refinery is continuing the construction of facilities under the second modernisation stage, the purpose of which is to increase the refinery throughput to six million tonnes a year and the conversion rate with the project completion in September 2018.
