The scope and capabilities of the petroleum refining industry in the former Soviet Union

The scope and capabilities of the petroleum refining industry in the former Soviet Union (FSU) are not well known to countries in the West. Small wonder - petroleum products are critical to mechanized military operations and the Russians were reluctant to reveal much about this industry to potential foes.

The author, formerly a technical manager with Lengiproneftekhim, an engineering institute in the FSU, and now a senior engineering advisor at Raytheon Engineers and Constructors, presents a general description and statistics about this industry that makes good reading for those interested in the petroleum refining business.

The petroleum industry of the FSU has had a turbulent history. Refinery construction began in the mid-nineteenth century, but many of these plants were destroyed during World War I and the Russian Revolution. Rehabilitation work began in 1921, before hostilities were over, and was completed by 1930, according to the author. There are now 48 refineries in what used to be the USSR, nine in the Commonwealth of Independent States, and one in Lithuania. The average capacity of these complexes is approximately 2.3 times those in the U.S. for a total capacity in excess of 500 million metric ton/yr.

The political and economic collapse of the FSU has resulted in severe disruptions in petroleum production. The patterns of product demand and delivery have changed, and the delivery of crude supplies has been altered by political objectives that are different from those of the FSU.

Chapter 1, Basic Description of Refineries in the Former USSR, presents data on the refineries and petrochemical facilities in the 12 Commonwealth States and Lithuania such as: Russia has 13% of the world oil reserves and produces 9.9% of the world's oil and condensate. Refining units are listed that use substantially all the modern refining processes and retain some of the old processes such as thermal cracking. Petrochemical processes at some refineries produce aromatics and olefins, and some facilities incorporate processes for lubes, waxes, asphalt, and fatty acids.

Crude and Commercial Products, Chapter 2, covers test methods, the characteristics of gasolines, turbine fuels, diesel fuels, lubes, waxes and coke, and test methods for petroleum and its byproducts. State standard specifications are listed with the corresponding ASTM standards. The properties of various crude oils, straight run naphthas, middle distillates, and vacuum gas oils are tabulated.

In Chapter 3, Research and Engineering Companies, the work of the 16 organizations that carry out research investigations are described, and the activities of 15 engineering companies are outlined.

Desalting, crude units, catalytic reforming, hydrotreating and catalytic cracking and their catalysts, hydrocracking, thermal cracking, and lube oil plants are discussed in Chapter 4, Refinery Process Units. Crude and product transport and storage, power plants, and water supply and wastewater systems are taken up in Chapter 5, Offsite Facilities.

Reactors, furnaces, exchangers, vessels, pumps and the like are covered in considerable detail in Chapter 6, Equipment for Refineries and Petrochemical Plants Produced in the FSU. Materials of construction are listed here along with Russian and ASTM codes.

Chapter 7, Safety Standards, deals with hazard classifications for areas, buildings, and pipelines, as well as with fire fighting systems, safety valve discharges, and air quality standards.

A striking feature of the FSU petroleum industry is the standardization of equipment and processes, which enabled the re-use of designs and eliminated much design engineering for subsequent units. This is in contrast to practices in the West where work is carried out according to the requirements of the client. The result of standardization is a loss in efficiency and energy consumption because designs are not tailored to the particular conditions at a site.

This book offers a look into a petroleum industry quite different from the one Americans are familiar with and should prove interesting to anyone with a professional interest in this field.

E.P. Kropp

E.P. Kropp is a retired chemical engineer who lives in Mantua, OH.