MOSCOW – Turkmenistans national oil company plans an expansion and upgrade, doubling capacity at the countrys only base oil plant to 160,000 tons per year of API Groups II and III base stocks targeted at Russias lubricant market, according to a consultant on the project at an industry gathering here.
An official with Chemlube International told the second Base Oils and Lubricants in Russia and the CIS conference that the project at Turkmenbashi Oil Processing Complex will double capacity and enable the facility to make API Group III stocks.
Details about the project were discussed April 22 during a presentation by Vladamire Timofeev, who heads Chemlubes office in Moscow. Based in Harrison, N.Y., Chemlube is a base oil trader and lubricant blender that has served as technical consultant in the development of Turkmenbashi Oil Processings base oil and lubricant operations.
The base oil plant currently has capacity to make 80,000 metric tons per year of Group II oils. Timofeev did not indicate a timeline for completing the project, but said the refiner has already licensed catalytic isomeric dewaxing technology from ExxonMobil Research and Engineering. That process will be combined with an existing hydrocracker to enable production of Group III oils.
In comments that were translated to English, Timofeev suggested that the company intends to target at least some of the output to Russian lubricant producers, which are losing sales to international competitors as the country shifts toward foreign-branded vehicles and the foreign engine oils recommended for them.
Launching production of high-quality lubes in Russia in compliance with OEM … requirements calls for immediate sources of high-grade base oils with better oxidation stability and low volatility, he said.
An official with Turkmenbashi Oil Processing first discussed the project at last years Moscow base oils and lubricants conference, which is organized by the London-based World Refining Association.
Also at the 2008 conference, a Rosneft official said his company was planning to upgrade its base oil plant in Angarsk, Russia. Last week, however, Nikolay Kazakov, chief technologist at the base oil plant, said management still has not made a final decision to move forward. Speaking to reporters through an interpreter, he said that decision will next be considered in October. The company has not yet determined capacity levels that the project will have if it moves forward.
Another Group II/III project continues to move forward. Ivan I. Lut, head of the crude oil deep processing plant for Tanecos new Nizhnekamsk refinery in Russias Tatarstan region, said the base oil plant there is still on track to open in 2011. Taneco, a unit of Tatneft, says the plant will have capacity of 100,000 t/y, divided equally between Group II and Group III.