Axens lets contract for Kremenchug refinery

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Mar. 21 -- Ukrainian holding company Ukrtatnafta has awarded Axens SA of Paris a contract for upgrading the gasoline pool at the 360,000 b/d Kremenchug refinery. The Kremenchung facility has the largest throughput capacity in the Ukraine.

The upgrading project, the first of its kind in the Ukraine, will enable the production of Euro V gasoline grade in the 2011 timeframe. The project involves the addition of Prime-G+, naphtha hydrotreating, and DIH isomerization units.

The combined naphtha fractions from the two existing fluidized catalytic crackers will be fed to a 610,000 tonne/year Prime-G+ unit, where the product sulfur content will be lowered to 20 ppm. The C5-C6 straight-run and catalytic reforming fractions will be processed in a 380,000 tonne/year hydrotreater then isomerized in a de-isohexanizer-type isomerization unit to produce an 88 RON (research octane number), light gasoline cut.

Ukrneftekhimproekt, Kiev, will perform the detailed engineering.