Russian oil producer increases environmental compliance and safety

Russian oil production will have an opportunity to run more efficiently with comprehensive automation solutions and services, expected to help drive control, environmental and safety excellence at TNK-BP's Saratov oil refinery in Western Russia. The 7 million ton per year refinery markets more than 20 products, including high-quality gasoline, low-sulfur diesel, naphtha, vacuum gas oil, fuel oil and bitumen.

Invensys Operations Management has signed two contracts with TNK-BP, the third largest oil company in Russia and among the top 10 private oil companies in the world by production volumes.

Invensys will supply its Foxboro I/A Series distributed control systems and Triconex emergency shutdown and critical control systems, as well as Foxboro measurement, instrumentation and control devices for the refinery's hydrofining and isomerisation units. The company will also provide project management, documentation development and other services, including engineering, delivery, installation, testing, and start-up, as well as a full range of training courses for the systems, covering development, commissioning and maintenance.

"Our main priority in the refining segment is to ensure steady growth and to meet the requirements of Russia's latest technical regulations on sulfur content in products," said Alexander Romanov, General Director, Saratov Oil Refinery. "These two projects will help us to minimise environmental impact, sustain and improve plant safety and maximise profits."

"The hydrofining and isomerisation units are critical parts of the refinery's development program and the competence of vendors was a critical issue for refinery management. TNK-BP needed a complete enterprise control solution that offered not only technical excellence, but long-term business benefits," said Boris Muratov, General Manager, Invensys Operations Management, Russia. "Our eight-year experience with Saratov meant that we had a solid understanding of the company's needs and were able to offer a high-value, low-risk solution that will help TNK-BP achieve control, environment and safety excellence."