From March 3rd to April 15th 2017, an overhaul shutdown will take place at the LOTOS refinery in Gdańsk. Preparations for the project have lasted 1.5 years. Importantly, the stoppage will not affect LOTOS customers.

The main purpose of the Spring 2017 overhaul project is to ensure further safe operation of the refinery and improved efficiency of equipment installed on its units. To prevent any interruptions in the supply of Europe’s best fuels and petroleum products, the sales division of LOTOS has accumulated additional stocks to meet the growing demand for the refinery’s products.

“LOTOS has one of Europe’s most advanced oil refineries and is currently engaged in another major project, EFRA, which will take its technological excellence to new levels through a significant increase in crude distillate yields and discontinuation of high-sulphur fuel oil production. Instead of HSFO, LOTOS will make an additional 900,000 tonnes of engine fuels and coking coal,” says Jarosław Kawula, Vice President of the Management Board, Chief Refining Officer, at Grupa LOTOS S.A. “During the shutdown, in addition to typical maintenance work, we will connect the new EFRA units with existing infrastructure and will complete several major upgrades to increase efficiency”.

The upgrades will mainly be carried out on three crude oil distillation units. They will result in increased efficiency and higher production volumes of the most valuable light oil fractions, used by LOTOS to make its top-of-the-line engine fuels. Furthermore, the overhaul will help increase the Company’s flexibility in terms of the mix of crudes processed, which should bring it tangible economic benefits.

All year long the refinery operates at more than 99% of its capacity, processing 10.5 million tonnes of crude oil. As a result, Grupa LOTOS sells over 11 million tonnes of fuels annually, which translates into an over 30% share in the Polish fuel market. The upcoming overhaul, the biggest ever for the Company, will cover units constructed as part of the 10+ Programme, completed in 2011, and is expected to guarantee the refinery’s uninterrupted operation for the next four to five years. That five-year period, i.e. one year longer than usually, is to result from the RBI (Risk Based Inspection) Programme implemented at the refinery to assess the technical condition of pipelines and equipment based on risk analysis. All these measures confirm that the LOTOS refinery in Gdańsk is a truly modern plant.

The Spring 2017 project will require engagement of approximately 3,000 staff of external companies, who will work uninterruptedly for six weeks, in March and April. Thus, together with employees responsible for the EFRA Project, there will be some 5,000 staff working at that time in the refinery. These numbers clearly show the sheer scale of operations at Grupa LOTOS, which − in line with its new strategy adopted in December 2016 − plans to even further solidify its market position.

The challenging project required meticulous and carefully planned technical and logistic preparations. That is why they began 1.5 years ago, with a 100-strong team of LOTOS experts from all industries. The Spring 2017 overhaul will cover 56 units, 2,500 pieces of equipment and pipeline sections, and more than 3,500 devices and fittings. Besides reviews, replacements, repairs and cleaning of pipelines and equipment, tens of thousands of inspections, checks and diagnostic tests will be performed under the supervision of the Office of Technical Inspection before the tested equipment is approved for further operation.

“Thanks to the experience of previous overhauls and the long and careful preparations, we are technically and organisationally ready for this biggest ever project at our Company,” declares Tomasz Branicki, Technical Director at Grupa LOTOS. “We have a strong team of experienced technical and production staff, supported by auxiliary services and trustworthy contractors, who guarantee quality, timeliness and safety”.  

Communications Office, Grupa LOTOS S.A., ul. Elbląska 135, 80-718 Gdańsk, Poland, tel. (+48) 58 308 87 31, (+48) 58 308 83 88, e-mail: media@grupalotos.pl