OREANDA-NEWS.  January 30, 2013. Rosneft has started shipping Euro-5 compliant winter diesel to Moscow, the Bryansk, Smolensk, Archangelsk, Murmansk regions and the Krasnodar territory. The fuel will be marketed through the Company’s own distribution network, reported the press-centre of Rosneft.

The production of Euro-5 diesel fuels at the Novokuibyshevsk refinery became possible thanks to a large-scale investment program being carried out by Rosneft with the aim to thoroughly modernize the technological process and fully transition to the production of Euro-5 standard petroleum products.

The Novokuibyshevsk refinery’s modernization program envisages the installation of catalytic reforming, low temperature isomerization and hycrocracking units as well as the construction and reconstruction of 43 off-plot facilities.

In 2012 Rosneft continued to step up the tempo of implementation of its refineries modernization program. The program will continue until 2017 and will cost 25 billion dollars (net of VAT). Two new units for reforming and coking have already been put in operation at the Komsomolsk refinery, while the bulk of construction work has already been finished at the Tuapse Refinery’s crude oil refining unit (ADU-12), capable of processing 12 million tons of oil every year.

24 new units are being built and 2 are being revamped, with contracts having been placed for 55% of core process equipment (5,170 out of 9,383 units).

Background
Euro-5 fuels contain reduced amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and sulfur (maximum 10 mg/kg), whereas the Euro-3 standard, introduced in the early 2011, allows the maximum sulfur content of up to 350 mg/kg.

The new fuels will satisfy all engine requirements of the modern diesel cars and trucks manufactured both in Russia and abroad. Engines that work on Euro-5 fuels are less noisy and have lower vibration levels. They are protected from corrosion, start more easily and are more fuel efficient. Because of a high cetane number, the Euro-5 diesel helps optimize fuel mixture combustion in the engine, thus prolonging the life of the exhaust catalyst.

When working on Euro-5 fuels, engines produce less smoke at the exhaust and discharge less combustion materials into the air, such as solids, nitric oxide, CO and unburned hydrocarbons.