The Lukoil-owned Volgograd refinery brought the first stage of a hydrofining unit online in December. The refinery began an upgrade project in 1997 that will include seven processing units. The 1.4 million tonnes/year hydrofining unit will produce lower sulfur-content diesel fuel. After it becomes operational, production of diesel fuel with sulfur content of 0.5% will end. The second stage of the upgrade, to be completed in 2010, will include a redistillation complex, gasoline isomerization unit, and the second stage of diesel fuel hydrofining.
Petro-Canada has awarded a joint venture of SNC Lavalin Group Inc. and Kellogg Brown & Root, an affiliate of Halliburton Co., the managing contractor's role for the gasoline sulfur reduction project and proposed bitumen feedstock conversion at Petro-Canada's Edmonton, Alta., refinery. The venture, named Wild Rose, will carry out detailed engineering, procurement, and construction of a gasoline feed desulfurization unit that Petro-Canada is installing at its refinery in Strathcona County near Edmonton to meet new federal regulations on sulfur content in gasoline. The unit will be on stream in 2004, and would be part of any bitumen feedstock conversion at the refinery. With assistance from Wild Rose, Petro-Canada is assessing the economic potential for reconfiguring the refinery to use 80,000-150,000 b/d of bitumen the Athabasca region of northeastern Alberta.
French group Institut Fran�s du P�ole will spend 300 million francs to turn its research and development base in Solaize, near the F�n refinery, into a European catalyst center by 2003. It will employ 270 researchers to develop catalyst processes for the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries.