Output rises at Turkey's Kirikkale refinery

OREANDA-NEWS. October 23, 2015. Turkish refiner Tupras has increased production at its 113,000 b/d Kirikkale refinery in central Turkey thanks to the completion of a residue upgrading project at its 227,000 b/d Izmit refinery, near Istanbul.

The Kirikkale refinery, which last year processed just 62,000 b/d, is now operating at full capacity for the first time since it was built in the 1980s, as it transports heavy sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) by rail to Izmit for further processing, Izmit refinery managing director Ziya Gurun said.

All Tupras refineries are now operating at full capacity, according to Gurun. The Izmit residue upgrading project — which included building a new hydrocracker, vacuum distillation unit and delayed coker unit — became fully operational in mid-2015. The new units take residues including HSFO and bitumen from Izmit, Kirikkale and the 227,000 b/d Izmir refinery in the western part of the country, to produce light products including low sulphur diesel, jet fuel, light naphtha and LPG. The new units are capable of processing 4.5mn t/yr of residues to produce approximately 4.25mn t/yr products.