President of Russia Vladimir Putin launches the new high-tech “Euro+” complex at the Gazprom Neft Moscow Refinery

The Gazprom Neft Moscow Refinery is the main supplier of fuels to the Moscow region, covering 40% of the capital’s market. Gazprom Neft has been undertaking a full-scale modernisation programme at its Moscow Refinery since 2011. Thanks to various initiatives the plant has, already, cut production-driven environmental impacts by 50%, with these expected to drop a further 50% by 2021 once the second phase of modernisation is complete.

2011 to 2015 saw new installations — allowing the production of Euro-5 fuels — built at the plant, and modern bitumen-production technologies introduced. The second phase of the refinery modernisation programme is now ongoing, which has seen the launch of unique biological (“Biosphere”) treatment facilities, taking water purification levels to 99.9% and allowing almost complete closed-cycle water consumption.

The “Euro+” facility is the most important project under Phase II of the Moscow Refinery’s modernisation. This high-tech complex is the first in Russia’s refining industry to cover the full production cycle, from Stage 1 oil refining to the production of gasoline and diesel fuels (including winter diesels) and aviation kerosene. The Euro+ complex is replacing five obsolete previous-generation facilities, and will take refining depth to 85% while also allowing production volumes of highly marketable petroleum products to increase.

Thanks the compactness of the Euro+ facility, together with optimum integration of water-coolant flows, the energy efficiency of production processes at the Moscow Refinery is expected to increase, with the plant cutting energy consumption by seven percent. Following the commissioning of the Euro+ facility scheduled repair run-times are expected to increase from two to four years, improving reliability in supplying the capital with high-quality environmentally friendly Euro-5 fuels. The Euro+ facility has been positively reviewed by the Ministry for Emergency Situations, Rostexnadzor (the Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Oversight), Rospirodnadzor (the Federal Service for Oversight of Natural Resources), Rospotrebnadzor (the Federal Service for Health and Consumer Rights), and the Moscow Government.