Karamay completes lube project

On July 31, PetroChina Karamay Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (KPC) held a ceremony for the turn over of the 300,000-ton-per-year lube oil pressurized hydrogenation unit and the 4,000-ton-per-annum sulfur recovery unit. These two units have entered the stage of wet commissioning. The Karamay oilfield has rich reserves of naphthenic crude oil. The company is an important naphthenic lube oil and base oil producer and supplier in Asia. Naphthenic lube oil and base oils produced at KPC has a 66% share of the local market.The 300,000-ton lube oil pressurized hydrogenation unit, with an investment of 520 million yuan (US$67.6 million) was launched in March 2006. The 4,000-ton sulfur recovery unit with an investment of 30 million yuan (US$3.9 million) was launched in October 2006. After the completion of these new units, KPCs naphthenic lube oil capacity will increase to 600,000 tons per annum and the plants emissions of sulfur dioxide will be reduced by 1,500 tons per year. (August 26, 2007)