Staatsolie Nieuws Oktober 2016

De controlekamer van de raffinaderij.
The refinery control room.
De afgelopen maanden hebben zich gekenmerkt door tegenslagen met falen van
of storingen aan equipment, waardoor productietargets niet constant zijn gehaald.
Zo zijn er relatief veel stroomonderbrekingen geweest. Naar aanleiding daarvan
is een verbeteringsprogramma ingezet bij dochtermaatschappij SPCS die de
stroom aanlevert. Er waren ook lichtpunten de afgelopen tijd. In mei produceerde
de raffinaderij iets boven haar targets aan hoogwaardige eindproducten premium
diesel en gasoline, en eind maart en april draaide de waterstoffabriek zelfs op
91% van haar capaciteit. Van 27 tot 30 juni is succesvol de finale acceptatie
ofwel 72-uurs test uitgevoerd. Bij deze test moet de raffinaderij 72 uur onafgebroken
draaien. Staatsolie heeft als bewijs van goedkeuring een certificaat van
Saipem ontvangen waaruit blijkt dat de raffinaderij conform het ontwerp kan produceren.
Na dit resultaat is de constructiecontractor niet meer verantwoordelijk.
In augustus behaalde Staatsolie de mijlpaal van 1 miljoen geproduceerde barrels
premium diesel en gasoline.
The past months have been characterized by setbacks caused by failure or malfunction of equipment,
resulting in many production targets not being met optimally. There were relatively many
power blackouts. This has forced implementation of an improvement program at subsidiary SPCS
which supplies the electrical power. Fortunately, there were uplifting moments in the past period. In
May the refinery’s production of high quality end products (premium diesel and gasoline) exceeded
its targets and at the end of March and April the hydrogen factory even operated at 91 percent of
its capacity. From 27 through 30 June the final acceptance or 72-hour test was successfully carried
out. Staatsolie received a certificate of approval from Saipem, proving that the refinery is able to
produce according to the design. After achievement of this result, the construction contractor is no
longer responsible for the refinery. In August the refinery reached the 1 million barrels milestone of
produced premium diesel and gasoline.
Learning Process
The organization has until the end of this year to
complete all preparations. ‘The refinery will be shut
down by mid-January 2017 and we aim at restarting
within four weeks’, says Aziez. ‘The most challenging
aspect of the operation is removing the catalyst
from the two pieces of equipment. It’s challenging
because we’ve never done this before and it requires
other expertise. When removing the catalyst the
unit’s temperature is cooled down with nitrogen to
40˚C. Under normal circumstances the temperature
is between 490˚C and 544˚C.’
Even the equipment, the isolated rooms where the
employees will be working, has to be kept at room
temperature. It requires constant monitoring and
optimal safety requirements. ‘It will be a learning
process for us.’
Staatsolie Nieuws • No. 2 • 2016
19