MOL and Tatneft building rubber bitumen plant in Tatarstan

MOL and Tatneft, one of the largest oil and gas companies in Russia, have launched a joint project for a rubber bitumen plant in the Republic of Tatarstan. The two companies have also agreed to establish a joint venture that, besides manufacturing and selling rubber bitumen, will also be authorized to market MOL’s technology license in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). 

The plant will have a production capacity of about 20,000 tons per year and will be located in Tatneft’s TANECO refinery, which operates in the Republic of Tatarstan, in the town of Nizhnekamsk, about 1,000 kilometres from Moscow, Russia. 

The construction of the joint rubber bitumen plant between MOL and Tatneft was officially launched in the presence of Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Rustam Minhihanov, president of the Republic of Tatarstan and chairman of the Board of Directors of Tatneft, and Nail Maganov, CEO of Tatneft and member of the Board of Directors of Tatneft.

The joint plant of MOL and Tatneft is only the first step in the cooperation of the two companies. MOL and TANECO, a subsidiary operating the Tatneft refinery, have also agreed to establish a joint venture (RMB-RUSS LLC) in which MOL will have a 51% majority. The purpose of the joint venture is to build the plant using MOL’s rubber bitumen technology, to produce and sell rubber bitumen, and to market MOL’s technology license in the Commonwealth of Independent States. 

The plant in Tatarstan, as well as future investments in the region will utilise the proven rubber bitumen technology extensively tested at MOL’s refinery in Zalaegerszeg, and MOL will provide the knowledge and expertise to run the plant, in form of a license. The raw bitumen and rubber grind will be provided by TANECO, while the special modifier manufactured by MOL LUB will be supplied by MOL.

The investment will be financed by the partners in proportion to their share in the company. The project is also funded by the Hungarian Export Development Agency (HEPA) managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, providing about 50% of the investment costs.

The cooperation is in line with MOL Group’s updated 2030+ SHAPE TOMORROW strategy, as the company sees the future in kickstarting a circular economy. The rubber bitumen technology developed together with the University of Pannonia provides a great example for prolonging the life span of used products. Besides sharing the technology, MOL Group will support the new Tatar unit with the actual operational experience of the rubber bitumen plant in Zalaegerszeg which has been operating since 2012.

The rubber bitumen plant in Nizhnekamsk is MOL Group’s first downstream cooperation in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Hungarian corporation has been present in the region for several decades, but so far it has mainly carried out upstream activities locally.