EMEA News
Lukoil to Boost Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel Production
Russian oil producer OAO Lukoil (Lukoil) has begun building a $1.4 billion processing unit to produce more ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) as international demand for the fuel rises, Bloomberg reports.
The company said the project, at its Volgograd refinery, will increase the supply of Euro-5 diesel by 1.8 million metric tonnes per year (mtpa).
The fuel grade contains no more than 10 parts per million of sulfur.
Russia is pushing oil companies to produce more higher-value fuels rather than standard fuel oil, and leading oil companies, including Lukoil, OAO Rosneft, and TNK-BP, have agreed to modernise their plants
"With over 100,000 barrels a day of Russian hydrotreating capacity slated to come online in 2013, it is likely that ULSD will become a more important component of Russian exports," said the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The new project uses a hydrocracker to remove sulfur from refined products and is scheduled to start operations by the end of 2015.
Increased production has been putting pressure on the price of ULSD as exports, including from Primorsk in Russia, grow, the Al Bawaba news organisation reported last month.
