Prague, 28 August 2018 – At the beginning of September, Unipetrol will start the planned shutdown of its steam cracker unit at Litvínov. It will also suspend operation of two polyethylene units and one polypropylene unit. From to September 3 to 30, Unipetrol will suspend operation of the entire petrochemical complex to carry out maintenance and upgrades. The total cost will reach CZK 180 million, half of which is intended for new investment projects.
“The construction of a new boiler house for the steam cracker unit has reached the stage when we need to provide a connection to the existing steam cracker technology. This implementation of so-called linking points is the most important task of the planned technological shutdown. We will use this necessary shutdown to perform maintenance on and modernize all the production units in the petrochemical production section,” explained Luboš Bernard, Head of Steam-Cracker Unit Production Team at the Unipetrol Group.
Besides implementing the linking points for the new steam cracker boiler house, a new operator interface in the control room will be installed, several pipeline routes will be changed, and regular cleaning of the technological equipment will be carried out during the shutdown of the petrochemical section. The most important part of the shutdown of the polyethylene and polypropylene units will involve installing a so-called intelligent shutdown system, which in the event of a power outage will ensure a controlled shutdown of major electrical equipment. Installing this system to oversee the new PE3 polyethylene unit will further enhance safety in the petrochemical section.
Shutdown of the steam cracker unit at Litvínov will also affect Spolana Neratovice, which connects to the chemical plant at Litvínov via an ethylene pipeline. Even there, however, they will use this shutdown and partial reduction in production to carry out regular maintenance and modernization of their technology.
The gradual suspension of production begins on August 28. Complete production shutdown is scheduled for September 3. Termination of the shutdown and subsequent gradual restart of the production units is scheduled for September 25 to October 2. “We expect individual production units to reach full capacity during the first week of October,” informed Luboš Bernard.
The shutdown of the petrochemical complex will not cause any increase in road traffic near the Litvínov plant. Shutdown and restart of the production units will be accompanied by burning off production at the flare stack (flaring). “We apologize for the temporary light and sound effects that accompany flaring. They are necessary for the safe interruption of production and safety for the population in surrounding towns and villages,” said Luboš Bernard.
The refinery and petrochemical group Unipetrol are the Czech Republic’s only crude oil importer and are an important producer of fuels, plastics and fertilizers and the owner of the Benzina filling station network – the largest network in the Czech Republic with 406 stations. Crude oil is brought to the Czech Republic from Russia via the Druzhba pipeline. From Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Arabian peninsula and Africa, oil flows through the IKL pipeline (Ingolstadt – Kralupy nad Vltavou – Litvínov) which flows from the TAL oil pipeline from Trieste, Italy. Oil is then processed in the Czech Republic at the Unipetrol Group’s two refineries – Kralupy nad Vltavou and Záluží u Litvínova, where related petrochemical products are also produced. The total volume of oil supplies to the Czech Republic reaches eight million tonnes per year, of which about two thirds are processed at the Litvínov Refinery.