Visakh Refinery's processing capacity increases to 15 million tonnes

Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], June 10 : The Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited Visakh Refinery's processing capacity has increased to 15 million tonnes after the addition of a new crude unit, hydrogen plants, sulphur recovery plants, and a VGO (Vacuum Gas Oil) hydrocracker.

These additions are part of the Visakh Refinery Modernisation Project. About 10 years ago, the Visakh Refinery's capacity to process crude oil was around nine million tonnes (8.33 million tonnes, to be precise), as per Visakh Refinery's Executive Director Ramanathan Ramakrishnan.

He informed that the updates carried out under the Visakh Refinery Modernisation Project have helped increase the refinery capacity to process crude oil to 15 million tonnes, which was surpassed last year.

"At Visakh Refinery, 10 years ago, we were 8.33 million tonnes. That was our nameplate capacity. We used to process around 9 million, and now we have grown. With the Visakh Refinery Modernisation Project, we have added a new crude unit, hydrogen plants, sulphur recovery plants, and a VGO (Vacuum Gas Oil) hydrocracker. With all these units, our nameplate capacity is now 15 million. We surpassed that capacity last year," the Executive Director of Visakh Refinery told ANI.

Ramakrishnan said that the Visakh refinery predominantly focuses on generating fuel-based products, such as Motor Spirit (MS) and diesel, which is its main product. He said that the Visakh refinery's future plans entail achieving a capacity of 20 million tonnes in the next five years.

"This year, we hope to surpass 16 million capacity. We have future plans to increase our capacity in stages, and maybe in five to six years, we will reach 20 million. That's our target. Visakh refinery is a fuel refinery. We don't have petchem in this complex. All the products are fuel-based. We make MS and diesel. That is the main product of our refinery," he added.

Meanwhile, YV Tarak, Chief Manager at Visakh Refinery, informed about the Atmos column, which refers to the atmospheric distillation column within a Crude Distillation Unit (CDU), installed in the refinery at a height of 73 metres, and said that it was a single-piece column.

"We are standing on the top of the Atmos column of CDU4. This is one of the highest locations. We are at around 80 metres elevation. If you see the wonder of this Atmos column CDU4, it was a single-piece column, 73 metres in height and 8 metres in diameter," Tarak, also the section head for the CDU4 operations unit, told ANI.

He said the vacuum distillation column at the Visakh Refinery is one of the widest columns ever transferred as a single piece, adding that the heavier oils left at the bottom are further distilled to get vacuum diesel and gas oil.

"The VAC column is 69 metres in height and 12 metres in width. It is one of the widest columns ever transferred as a single piece. We distil the crude oil and take out the basic products of LPG, kerosene, and diesel. What is left at the bottom is further distilled in a vacuum distillation column to get vacuum diesel, vac gas oil," the Chief Manager said.

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