Commercial production of needle coke is expected to start at the Omsk Refinery in 2021 following the reconstruction of the delayed coking unit.
This RUB2.5 billion-project forms part of the Omsk Refinery’s modernisation programme, being undertaken by Gazprom Neft since 2008.
Following reconstruction the Omsk Refinery’s delayed coking unit will have a production capacity of 38,700 tonnes of raw needle coke per year.
Three heavy-duty coke drums, weighing 197 tonnes and each of them 28.5 metres long, have already been installed - this equipment having been produced by leading Russian manufacturer Volgogradneftemash.
Modernisation to 2021 will also involve the replacement of furnace heaters and secondary distillation columns, construction of an additional tank farm, and the implementation of automated control systems.
Needle coke is a cutting-edge high-margin product, used in producing ultra-reliable graphite electrodes.
All raw materials used in producing these are currently imported.
The Omsk Refinery is the first in Russia to start producing needle coke.
Anatoly Cherner, Deputy CEO for Logistics, Processing and Sales, Gazprom Neft, commented: “Part of the programme on modernising the company’s refining facilities involves us collaborating with leading Russian developers and equipment manufacturers.
Thanks to these joint initiatives we are improving efficiency in refinery operations and implementing technologies to produce new products, in high demand.
The first ever needle coke production in Russia, being initiated at the Omsk Refinery, is one such example of that collaboration.”
