A reactor for ORLEN Group’s hydrocracking installation currently under construction has arrived in Lithuania and will soon be delivered to the northwestern Mažeikiai oil refinery (3 August).
The new installation, set to be operational by 2025, will enable the production of more high-margin oil products, which is expected to increase the profitability of the Lithuanian facility and contribute to the region’s energy security.
“The ORLEN Group investment in Możejki is the largest project in Poland’s history carried out in Lithuania. We are operating according to the established schedule. The installation will significantly improve the profitability and margins of the Możejki [Mažeikiai] refinery, thus further reducing the company’s dependence on the volatile macroeconomic environment. This will allow for the company’s further development towards new products and extending the value chain,” said Daniel Obajtek, President of ORLEN’s Management Board.
Measuring over 90 metres (m), the reactor arrived at the port of Klaipeda in early August, where it was unloaded onto an 88-axle modular trailer measuring 95m in length and 6.5m in width. The total weight of the load is approximately 2,200 tons, with the reactor itself weighing around 1,500 tons.
The reactor’s transportation to the refinery began this past weekend, taking take place during nighttime hours at an average speed of 3 kilometres (km) per hour. With a total route of around 145 km, it is expected to arrive within around two weeks, ORLEN said via a press release.
The construction of the deep oil refining installation is expected to be completed by the end of 2024 and enable an increase in EBITDA by up to 68 million euros annually.
At present, to produce the expected volume of fuels, ORLEN Lietuva processes up to 10 million tons of raw material annually. Once the hydrocracking installation is operational, a similar fuel volume can be achieved by processing around 8 million tons of crude oil annually, ORLEN said.
