RTL logistics company arranged transportation of equipment for modernization of Moscow Oil Refinery (owned by PAO Gazprom Neft).
Four cargo items with a total weight of 785 tons were requested to be shipped. These are two oil hydrotreatment reactors, dewaxing unit and a hot separator. This equipment will be used to complete the diesel fuel hydrotreatment section of the new combined oil refining unit Euro+ which will be constructed at Moscow Refinery by 2018. Euro+ is one of the world’s most advanced units, its construction is included into the key phases of Moscow Oil Refinery integrated modernization which has been under implementation by Gazprom Neft since 2011.
Internal diameter of hydrotreatment reactors is 3 meters, and height – 30.7 meters. Internal diameter of dewaxing reactor is 3.6 meters, height – 16.5 meters. The hot separator is 27 meters high, it will be used for separating the dewaxing reactor product mix into two flows: heavy hydrocarbons and light hydrocarbons containing petrol and light kerosene fractions. Total weight is about 700 tons.
RTL experts developed the optimal route of delivery from Izhorskiye Zavody works in a town of Kolpino (Leningrad Oblast) to Moscow Refinery.
From Izhorskiye Zavody the cargo was carried on special-purpose trucks to the jetty on River Neva. The route was challenging, mainly because it went through inhabited localities and two railway crossings. In order to pass each railway crossing, it was required to de-energize the HV power lines and obtain approval for “gaps” in trains traffic. Road paving reinforcement guaranteed safety of load transport.
The next step – motor transportation by trucks with special platforms to the previously built jetty for loading the cargo onto the river barge. Reloading and fastening activities took two days. The barge sailed away to Moscow along the inland waterways: the Neva River, Lake Ladoga, the Volga-Baltic Canal, Lake Beloye, the Sheksna River, Rybinskoye Reservoir, the Volga River and the Moscow Canal. It took 21 days to move the equipment through the Volga-Baltic transport system. The route extension came to 1,367 km.
The large-scale modernization program is now ongoing at Moscow Refinery. It has started in 2011 by Gazprom Neft. The plant is gradually getting rid of outdated production facilities and actively introducing modern industrial complexes. For the last five years, impact of production on the environment has reduced by 50%. Investments in the program already reached RUB 75 billion. Upon the modernization program completion in 2020, Gazprom Neft is targeting to turn Moscow Refinery into the best oil refining enterprise in Europe in terms of quality, energy efficiency and environmental performance.
It is worth mentioning that domestic companies are actively involved in Euro+ project execution. One of the largest Russian manufacturers of process equipment VolgogradNefteMash fabricated state-of-the-art heat exchangers, the Russian AEM-Technologies (part of Rosatom Group) is completing the manufacturing of oversize column equipment. NIPIGazpererabotka has been selected as General Contractor for Euro+ construction.