Green Forum • 26 June, 2024 at 10:00 AM
Rompetrol Rafinare, a member of the KMG International Group (Rompetrol), has upgraded the Hydrogen Power Plant (HPP) at the Petromidia refinery with an investment of nearly €9.1 million.
The project focused on replacing all components of the reformer furnace, the most crucial and complex task being the replacement of 114 vertical tubes that contain the catalyst needed for the reforming reaction.
"The complexity of the project, involving hundreds of individual tasks, will help us maintain a high operational level of the unit, a crucial facility for the entire refinery. We uphold our high standards, ensure hydrogen production capacity, and align with the Group's overall operational plans," stated Florian Daniel Pop, General Director of Rompetrol Rafinare.
Given the severe parameters required for the reforming process to produce hydrogen (over 800 degrees Celsius and more than 30 bar working pressure), hundreds of mechanical elements were installed and interconnected using special welding technology with millimeter precision.
According to technical specifications, the service life of the subassemblies is 100,000 hours, approximately 12 years. Considering the facility's commissioning in 2012 as part of a €345.8 million investment package to expand the Petromidia refinery's capacity, replacing the reformer furnace subassemblies in the HPP unit was mandatory. The general turnaround this year was the ideal time for this retechnologization.
The project was executed by four subcontracting companies, involving almost 70 specialists, under the supervision of Rominserv, the general contractor of the KMG International Group (Rompetrol), based on Rompetrol Rafinare's requirements.
The HPP unit is the main hydrogen supplier for the Petromidia refinery, producing hydrogen through steam-reforming methane gas. The resulting hydrogen is primarily used in desulfurization processes to support the production of Euro5 standard fuels. The unit has a capacity of 40,000 cubic meters per hour, with a minimum purity of 99.99%.
In 2024, Rompetrol Rafinare has allocated a total investment budget of over €127.4 million. According to the company's estimates, around €77.35 million has been allocated to the main modernization and revamp projects of the Petromidia refinery facilities, implemented as part of the general turnaround.
The general turnaround, occurring every four years, is a necessary measure for executing large-scale projects aimed at the modernization, maintenance, and recertification of the Petromidia refinery's operational assets.
The Petromidia Refinery is the largest of its kind in Romania and one of the most significant in the region, with a capacity to process over 5 million tons of raw materials annually. In 2024, the Năvodari unit aims to process nearly 5 million tons of raw materials, primarily Kazakh crude oil, unloaded for Petromidia at Romania's only offshore terminal for petroleum products, operated by Midia Marine Terminal.
The significant shareholders of Rompetrol Rafinare SA are KMG International (54.63% - directly and indirectly) and the Romanian State, through the Ministry of Energy (44.7%).