By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Aug. 19 -- Finland's Neste Oil Corp. plans to build a production line at its 200,000 b/d Porvoo refinery as part of a diesel project. The line, along with a €500 million euro biodiesel plant currently under construction, will be tied in to the refinery during a 5-week maintenance turnaround that will start Aug. 29 (OGJ Online, July 7, 2004). The company will begin shutting down units Aug 22 in preparation for the turnaround.
During the shutdown, Neste Oil will expand the refinery's enhanced high-viscosity index base oil unit capacity by 30,000 tonnes/year to 250,000 tpy.
The turnaround is part of the Porvoo plant's normal maintenance and modernization program to enable the refinery to retain high capacity utilization potential over the next 5 years. Safety-related statutory pressure vessel inspections and environmental protection additions also will be carried out.
The refinery is expected to be back in normal operation in late September, with the new production line to start up at yearend 2006.
Neste Oil said loss of production during the turnaround will adversely impact its financial performance for the third quarter and for 2005 as a whole. In its second-quarter interim report the company estimated this impact to be €40-60 million on the group's operating profit.