Lukoil-Neftekhim announced last month that it will close an ethanolamine plant at its refinery in Burgas, Bulgaria. A spokesman for parent Lukoil said the plant was not making money.
Ethanolamines are used for a variety of applications, including as chemical intermediates to provide properties such as corrosion inhibition and emulsification in lubricants.
Ethanolamines are one of several products being closed out at Burgas, effective next month. Spokesman Vladimir Semakov confirmed yesterday that the company will also permanently cease production of bivinyl and ethylene glycol.
The company did not specifically cite the recession as the cause of its decision, stating rather that the existing scheme is unprofitable.
The Burgas refinery is the largest in Southeastern Europe, with crude throughput capacity of 8.8 million metric tons per year. In 2008 it produced 6.6 million tons of fuels and petrochemicals. Burgas is a port city on Bulgarias Black Sea coast.