Atyrau Oil Refinery to Halt Operations for Maintenance in October

The Atyrau Oil Refinery will suspend operations from October 1 to 25 for scheduled maintenance, Orda.kz reports.

According to KazMunayGas, Chair of the Board Askhat Khasenov visited the plant ahead of the shutdown to inspect preparations.

During the maintenance period, the refinery will conduct technical examinations of thousands of units of equipment, including 1,100 vessels and devices, 1,400 pipelines, and 46 furnaces. More than 316 tons of catalyst will be replaced, with 1,880 specialists and 62 units of special equipment involved.

The key and most complex operation will be the replacement of the conical bottoms of the reactors of the delayed coking unit, for which two unique cranes with a lifting capacity of 750 tons each are being installed at the plant. During the planned work, an innovative predictive diagnostics system will also be installed on the reactors to improve the reliability of the equipment, KMG reported.

The delayed coking unit is one of the refinery’s most critical installations. At the end of last year, technical issues prevented it from running at full capacity for an extended period, followed by the dismissal of the then-General Director, Galymzhan Zhusanbayev.

During the shutdown, the refinery will create fuel reserves to ensure an uninterrupted supply to western Kazakhstan. Khasenov instructed management to ensure high-quality repairs and reliable operation of all units.

He also set the goal of increasing annual oil refining to 6.1 million tons and extending the interval between repairs to three years.

Earlier, it was reported that the refinery introduced artificial intelligence systems to enhance safety.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny