OREANDA-NEWS. August 30, 2007. Seeking to revamp its process installations and to ensure their continuous and safe operation in the future, AB Mazeikiu Nafta will soon shut its refinery down and commence the turnaround. The turnaround activities are scheduled to begin on September 22, 2007, reported the press-centre of AB Mazeikiu Nafta.

Their anticipated duration is approximately 1,5 months. The value of investment and maintenance activities planned for the turnaround may amount to USD 80 million.

The scheduled scope of work as part of the turnaround is exclusively large, which requires many employees of the Lithuanian and foreign contractors. The number of such employees may exceed 4,000 people.

“As part of the turnaround, the internals of the process installations will be inspected; fired heaters and their burners will be replaced; existing piping will be repaired; and the new piping and new process installations will be installed. However, this turnaround is an extraordinary effort because, in addition to the scheduled activities, we will continue implementation of the modernization projects,” – said Aleksandr Lobanonov, Director of Turnarounds of AB Mazeikiu Nafta.

As part of the preparations for the turnaround, the Company is accumulating inventories of the petroleum products. Sigitas Zakalskis, Marketing Director of UAB Mazeikiu Nafta Trading House, a subsidiary of AB Mazeikiu Nafta, says that the refinery’s shutdown for the turnaround is a scheduled activity; hence we are able to assure that we will not be short of petroleum products for the Baltic markets.

The last turnaround was performed in the Company in 2003.