August 2009
Project Execution within Budget and Time
In order to comply with the increasing demand of low sulphur Diesel, MOL plc , Hungary, had contracted UHDE to perform LSTK engineering, procurement and construction for a grass-root deep desulphurization unit (GOK-3) at its Danube Refinery, Szazhalombatta in December 2002. The technology was based on a combination of Haldor Topsoe’s Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel process and MOL’s MOLDEW dewaxing process. The plant with an original capacity of 6696 MTPD had been successfully started up in October 2004.
Rising Diesel demand was the driving force to look for additional capacity and UHDE won the works to expand GOK-3’s capacity in December 2007. The revamped unit of 8236 MTPD capacity was successfully commissioned in August 2009 and now produces Diesel of a sulfur content below 5 ppm.
The GOK-3 unit consists of a dewaxing reactor, a desulphurization reactor and a four columns separation section, where not only Diesel, but also naphtha, LPG and fuel gas are obtained as separate products. Furthermore an amine system and a sour water stripper are integrated. This permits to process additional feeds like wild naphtha, rich amine and sour water.
UHDE met the revamp project’s many challenges such as its ambitious product specification and a very narrow time schedule. This was particularly true for construction to match the refinery’s several turnaround activities that ran in parallel.
Once more UHDE proved to be a reliable partner for complex tasks. The project has been executed within budget and time.
László Tóth, Head of MOL DS Project Development:
"It was a real challenging project with tight schedule and budget constraint. It needed a common effort and integrated team approach of the parties to meet the project objectives. So we did, and now the unit is running smoothly without notable problems. I can say that it was our pleasure to work with such a partner, UHDE, which was willing to understand its customer’s concerns and did its very best to achieve our common goal. Keep it up!"
