The European giant oil company Totalenergies has announced plans for the Totalenergies Largest European Complex Overhaul. This overhaul project is expected to commence at the second half of the year 2025.
Totalenergies Antwerp refining and petrochemical complex is the company’s largest integrated complex in Europe. This plant is located in Belgium, Antwerp just right in the middle of the major oil hub Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam (ARA). This mega complex possesses an impressive capacity of processing around 340,000 barrels of crude oil in a single day (bpd).
Antwerp Facility Factsheet
Name: Totalenergies Antwerp refining and petrochemicals platforms
Location: Antwerp city, Belgium
Cost: Over 1 billion euros
Capacity: 330,000 barrels per day
Owner: Totalenergies
Details of the Overhaul
This mega Antwerp refinery possesses 2 gasoline-making units which are referred to as the fluid catalytic converters. The bigger one of these two units will have a brand-new reactor installed during the overhaul works that will be conducted between the month of September and December of the year 2025. Furthermore, the renovation works will also be conducted on the furnaces.
The refining margins in Europe and the rest of the world have dropped amid a weaker-than-expected demand and ample supply. This has eventually led to a reduction in profits of oil companies globally. In a recent reveal, both Totalenergies and Shell and BP issued a warning that weak refining margins would hit the Q3 earnings.
The downstream income of Totalenergies are foreseen to “decrease sharply provided much lower refining margins” in Europe and worldwide. The European Refining Margin Marker which is the market indicator for European refining of the company’s refining system of Europe, plunged up to 65% to $15.4 per ton in the 3rd quarter compared to $44.9 per ton for the 2nd quarter.
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The first Totalenergies Largest European Complex Overhaul
“Back in the year 2013, Totalenergies also decided to invest over €1 billion to upgrade the Antwerp complex,” a report from the company indicates, “The company’s objectives were in response to the demand of the market by increasing the supply of lighter products that meet strict environmental standards.” This was to be achieved by making the refinery complex much more flexible so that it can utilize the available most advantaged feedstocks and increase the synergies that lie between refining and petrochemicals.
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This upgrade ended in the year 2017 and it consisted a total of 3 projects
• OPTARA (Optimization of the Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam area) project. The main aim of this undertaking was to change more heavy fuel oil into lighter products that were in line with the newly set EU standards.
• ROG (Refinery Off-Gas) project. This entailed the construction of a unit to recover the gas that is co-produced by the refinery (I.e the by product gas) and eventually change it to feedstock for the petrochemicals that will replace naptha which is usually more expensive.
• Ethane Project, which entailed the revamp of one of the two steam crackers of the complex and also adapting the logistics of the site so that it can have the ability to import 200,000 tons of ethane annually from Norway by ship.
