Russian refining joint venture Slavneft reported that the API Group III portion of its Yaroslavl base oil plant ramped up to full production of 100,000 metric tons per year in 2018.
The company is a 50:50 joint venture between Russian state oil companies Rosneft and Gazprom Neft. The base oil plant at its refinery in Yarosavl had capacity to produce 250,000 t/y of Group I oils until April 2017, when it opened a 100,000 t/y Group III upgrade.
In a recent press release Slavneft said it produced a total of 309,000 tons of base oils in 2017, including the Group III output. In 2017 the plant produced 45,000 tons of Group III.
The new base oil unit is also capable of making low-viscosity drilling fluids used in crude oil production, according to the company.
Yaroslavls base oil shipments are primarily exported to Europe by land and through the Baltic Sea ports, the main export routes for Russian base oils.
Around 210,000 tons of base oils were shipped to these ports in the first half of 2018, according to Argus. Russian Group II and Group III base oil exports account for 15 percent of the countrys total base oil exports in 2018, according to Berlin-based trading company DYM Resources. Russias total base oil capacity is 2.5 million t/y, according to LubesnGreases 2018 Global Guide to Base Oil Refining.
Photo courtesy of Slavneft
