Essar Oil Ltd (EOL) has commissioned Vacuum Gas Oil Hydrotreating Unit (VGOHDT) and Sulphur Recovery Unit (SRU) at its Vadinar refinery as a part of company's Rs 8,300-crore Phase I expansion plan.
The SRU will help the refinery recover 99.9 per cent of sulphur in acid gases generated from the ARU (amine regeneration unit) and the SWS (sour water stripper), two units that have already been commissioned.
'With this milestone, the Delayed Coker Unit (DCU) is the only expansion unit that remains to be commissioned as part of EOL’s Rs 8,300-crore Phase I expansion project,' the company stated in an official statement issued on Wednesday.
Commenting on the development, C Manoharan, head of refinery, Essar Oil, said, "The VGOHDT Unit will ensure that the refinery is able to achieve a throughput capacity of 18 MMTPA. With a capacity of 6.5 MMTPA, the VGOHDT at the Vadinar Refinery is among the largest units of its kind. It will help the refinery produce low sulphur, high octane gasoline (petrol). The unit is also capable of producing naphtha, kerosene and gas oil (diesel)."
With this commissioning, the company is believed to see substantial pick up in revenue and profitability going forward.
"The Vadinar refinery, which is now in the final leg of its expansion programme, will soon be among the world’s most complex refineries capable of producing fuels that meet the world’s most stringent emission norms. Commissioned units like the ISOM (Isomerization Unit), DHDT (Diesel Hydrotreater) and the SRU give us the capability to process heavier and tougher crudes and produce high-quality products that find acceptance in both domestic and international markets," mentioned LK Gupta, MD and CEO, Essar Oil.
The company has also commissioned a state-of-the-art effluent treatment plant (ETP) with a capacity of 540 cubic metre per hour.
The treated water will be reused for cooling tower or for the generation of demineralised water through the RO plant.
