Baku, December 24 - Neftegaz.RU. On December 21 a new bitumen plant and liquefied gas filling station were launched as part of the 1st phase of Heydar Aliyev Refinery’s reconstruction and modernization program. The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev attended the opening ceremony.
SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev reported to the head of state that the opening of the bitumen plant would increase the annual production from 250,000 up to 400,000 tons. High-quality bitumen PEN 40/60 will be produced in the plant to meet domestic demand.
The new facility will save energy and make a significant contribution to environment protection in Baku. It will also minimize the plant's operational costs. The construction of the new bitumen plant was necessary because of the reconstruction of the Heydar Aliyev Refinery and the phased cleaning of the former Azerneftyag’s territory to involve it in the White City project.
The 1st phase of the modernization project consists of 3 main parts: construction of the new bitumen plant and gas-filling station, demounting and cleaning work in the areas where new plants are planned to be built in the next phases plus preparation for the construction work.
In 2016, a detailed engineering, procurement, construction and management contract (EPCm) for a new bitumen plant was signed with Poerner Gruppe, Austria. Azfen, the construction contractor began building of the facility in April, 2017. 400 local workers and specialists were involved in the construction.
Reconstruction work at the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery is being done in 3 phases. The 2nd phase of reconstruction work to be completed by the end of 2020 will facilitate the production of Euro-5 diesel fuel while the 3rd phase scheduled for the beginning of 2021 will enable the production of Euro-5-standard A-92/95/98 gasoline.
