ZapSib NPZ plans to build a new $1 billion low-sulfur fuel refinery that will include a base oil plant in Tomsk, in western Siberia.
Created in February 2010 to implement the refinery project, ZapSib NPZ is a joint venture among several Moscow investors, the companys spokesman told Lube Report. He declined to provide further details on the base oil plant due to the early phase of the project.
The company recently selected the refinery developer. The refinerys developmental project should be ready by May 2011, when we are expecting to start with the construction works, said Yevgeny Kaverzin, ZapSib NPZs spokesman.
The construction is planned to take place over five years, while the first petroleum products such as high quality petrol [Euro 4 and 5], diesel, [vacuum] gas oil and fuel oilare expecting to stream 18 months after construction begins, said Kaverzin. Base oil production will follow completion of the second phase of the refinery construction, not later than 2016, he indicated.
The refinery site is on 100 hectares (247 acres) in the town of Tomsks industrial zone. The refinery is planned to process up to 3 million tons of crude annually, and the total project cost is estimated to be around $1 billion.
The project has many economic advantages. In the following decade we see higher demand for petroleum products in Russia. For example the gas oil market is expecting to rise up to 1 million tons in 2015, Kaverzin said.
Our analyses have shown that the volume of refined petroleum products in Tomsk region is not sufficient for the local market – the region has always been an importer of motor fuels and lubricants from other parts of Russia.