The facilities in question are the refinery’s four coke drums which, at very high temperatures, ensure the stage of upgrading heavy components to superior products.
“We are constantly investing in the modernization of the Petrobrazi refinery. The replacement of the coke drums is a project with a very high degree of technical and organizational complexity. The new units will have an important contribution to increasing the efficiency and safety of our operations,” said Radu Caprau, member of the OMV Petrom Executive Board, responsible for Downstream Oil.
The four coke drums are designed for a lifespan of over 20 years, 5,000 operating cycles, and will be produced in Romania. The weight of one coke drum is almost 200 tons, with a diameter of approximately 6 meters and a length / height of around 30 meters.
The replacement operation will take place between 2021 and 2023. OMV Petrom will be investing approximately EUR11 million in this project this year.
OMV Petrom’s Petrobrazi refinery has a total crude oil processing capacity of 4.5 million tons per year. Starting 2005, the company has invested approximately EUR1.8 billion in the refinery, of which one third represented investments to reduce its environmental impact.