Serbia’s Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) JSC Novi Sad has let a contract to McDermott International Inc. to deliver technology licensing for an upgrade of the existing fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) as part of the operator’s ongoing modernization program to improve energy efficiency, boost production of higher-quality products, and ensure operational reliability at its 96,400-b/d refinery at Pancevo (OGJ Online, Nov. 7, 2016).
As part of the FCC modernization project, McDermott's Lummus Technology will provide the license and basic engineering for its Lummus-Indian Oil Corp.’s jointly developed Indmax FCC technology to shift the yield of the existing FCC unit toward production of valuable olefins and higher-octane naphtha, McDermott said.
McDermott’s scope of work under the contract also includes delivery of license and basic engineering for a grassroots unit for production of bioethanol base ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE) at the refinery based on Lummus’s proprietary CDEtbe technology. The CDEtbe unit will convert part of the olefins from the FCC with bioethanol into ETBE, which will be used as a clean, octane-boosting, gasoline-blending component, the service provider said.
Without disclosing a timeframe for its work on the Pancevo project, McDermott said it will book the licensing and basic engineering contract—valued between $1-50 million—in its fourth-quarter 2019 backlog.
This latest contract for Pancevo follows previous contract awards to Lummus as well as its joint venture Chevron Lummus Global for hydrocracking and delayed coking technology as part of the refinery’s broader modernization and revitalization program (OGJ Online, Mar. 16, 2015; Aug. 25, 2014).
Now in its second phase, the ongoing modernization program at Pancevo includes the major bottom-of-the-barrel (BOTB) project, which involves the addition of a delayed coking unit that will be integrated with the refinery’s FCC and hydrocracker (OGJ Online, Oct. 25, 2017; June 12, 2017; Dec. 1, 2016).
Previously scheduled for completion in third-quarter 2019, the BOTB project is slated for start-up by yearend, NIS said on its web site.
Once commissioned, the BOTB project will enable Pancevo refinery to increase production of more valuable finished products, primarily diesel, as well as initiate production of coke, which is currently imported into Serbia.