Honeywell to modernize SOCAR refinery

State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) will use a suite of Honeywell UOP technologies to modernize its oil refinery in Baku, Azerbaijan, to produce high-quality gasoline that meets stricter emission standards.

The effort will help Azerbaijan meet growing domestic demand for transportation fuels that meet international emission standards equivalent to Euro V fuel requirements.

“Honeywell UOP will provide a suite of technologies that will allow SOCAR to efficiently produce higher octane gasoline with far fewer contaminants,” said Pete Piotrowski, vice president and general manager for Honeywell UOP. “This latest effort builds on a strong business relationship with SOCAR, which includes an economic and technical assessment of the refinery and builds on work by Honeywell UOP for SOCAR’s new STAR refinery in Turkey.”

In addition to technology licensing, Honeywell UOP will provide basic engineering designs and a process revamp study for SOCAR. Honeywell UOP technologies licensed for the refinery include:

• The UOP Penex process to produce isomerate, a cleaner gasoline blend-stock that does not contain benzene, aromatics or olefins.
• The UOP Coker Naphtha Hydrotreating process to remove contaminants from naphtha streams to produce a higher-quality gasoline blend stock.
• The UOP Merox process to treat naphtha feedstock to meet finished product specifications.
• The UOP Ethermax process to convert isobutylene and methanol into a high-octane MTBE blending agent with no benzene or aromatics.
• The UOP Sulfide Oxidation process to convert refinery waste streams for treatment within the refinery’s water treatment facility.
• UOP Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) process technology to upgrade the existing fluid catalytic cracking unit to convert vacuum gas oil to gasoline and other distillate range products.