Siberian gas plant expansion starts up

Sept. 21, 2009
Russian petrochemicals giant Sibur LLC announced earlier this month start-up of the second stage of its expansion at the Yuzhno-Balyksky gas processing plant in the Tyumen region, roughly 600 miles west of Novosibirsk.

Warren R. True
Chief Technology Editor-LNG/Gas Processing

HOUSTON, Sept. 21 -- Russian petrochemicals giant Sibur LLC announced earlier this month start-up of the second stage of its expansion at the Yuzhno-Balyksky gas processing plant in the Tyumen region, roughly 600 miles west of Novosibirsk.

The plant handles a hydrocarbon feed associated with crude oil production (called “associated petroleum gas”) which it separates into natural gas, NGLs, and napthas. Its expansion doubles inlet capacity to 3 billion cu m/year (nearly 3 bcfd) and pushes Sibur’s company-wide gas processing capacity to 19 billion cu m/year, said its announcement.

Sibur told OGJ that its current facilities under the Sibur Group include six gas processing plants—Nyagan, Muravlenkovsky, Gubkinsky, Yuzhno-Balyksky, Nizhnevartovsk, and Belozerny—and three compressor stations—Vyngopurovskaya, Varyeganskaya, and Vyngayakhinskaya. All are in western Siberia.

The new complex at Yuzhno-Balyksky consists of a booster compression station, drying and low-temperature condensation sections, a propane refrigeration plant, and other facilities.

Modernization of Yuzhno-Balyksky gas plant began in 2007 with the first stage increasing associated-gas processing capacity to 1.5 billion cu m/year from 900 million cu m/year.

The just-completed second stage of the expansion was designed by NIPIgazpererabotka JSC, Sibur’s engineering center for gas-processing technologies, said the company. The control system was fully automated by Yokogawa Co., Japan. The new complex can handle both high and low-pressure associated gas.

When the entire new complex attains design capacity, the plant will produce 2.8 billion cu m/year of dry gas and 900,000 tonnes/year (about 28,000 b/d) of light hydrocarbons.

The capacity increase is aimed at receiving additional volumes of associated natural gas, mainly from the Priobskoye oil field that is being developed by Rosneft JSC. Sibur said modernization and expansion at the Yuzhno-Balysky plant have improved utilization of raw stream produced gas to 95%.

Contact Warren R. True at [email protected].