Nigerian Crude Processing Draft R6

Nigerian Crude Processing at the Cyprus Petroleum Refinery Ltd PSA Consultants Ltd.
Nigerian Crude Processing at the Cyprus Petroleum Refinery Ltd
Dr. George Georgiadis 1 31/9/2009

1. Summary
Cyprus Petroleum Refinery Ltd, (CPRL), ceased operating in April 2004 when Cyprus joined
the European Union (EU). The refined products from the refinery could not meet the EU low
sulphur diesel and unleaded gasoline specifications. The refinery was subsequently sold and
dismantled by TETCO (Tahan Engineering Trading and Contracting) S.A.R.L in 2006.
Lohrmann International GmbH has been contracted by Antonio Oil Company Plc. Nigeria to
investigate the possibility and suitability of re-erecting CPRL in Nigeria.
This report has been prepared for Lohrmann International GmbH Management and is an
evaluation of the expected yields from processing various Nigerian crudes using the equipment
and original refinery configuration. The refinery is to refine the crude and produce fuel
products whose specifications are within the laws of Nigeria.
The methodology for producing this data is based on proprietary Linear Programming (LP)
simulation software for predicting yields. Test run data were not available.
The objective of the LP simulations was to determine which Nigerian crudes are suitable for
processing at CPRL without impacting its profitability.

2.1 Introduction
PSA has been contracted by Lohrmann International1 to run Linear programming simulations
for the crudes in table 1 and provide for the as-is CPRL facilities the following:
maximum throughput for refinery utilization
product yields
product specifications
utility requirements
block flow diagram
overall heat & material balance
Table 1.
i. 100% feed of Bonny Light

ii. 100% feed of Escravos crude
iii. ???% blend of Bonny Light & Escravos, identifying the optimum blend.
iv. other ???% Near East blend, if Escravos blend is not achieving an optimum.
1
Requisition-No.:PSAQ309-ProOilP-1

2.2 CPRL A Brief Background
CPRL, the only refinery in Cyprus, started operating in 1972 as a limited liability company. The
maximum throughput of the refinery was approximately 1.2 million metric tons per year,
although its utilization was on average 78%, due mainly to crude outages.
The main refinery units and their respective capacities are indicated in table 2 below.
Table 2
Unit Number Description Capacity
(U-100) Crude Oil distillation 27,000 bblsd
(U-200) Hydrotreating 10,200 bblsd
(U-300) Platforming 4,650 bblsd
(U-700) LPG treating 1,500 bblsd
(U-500) High Vacuum Distillation 2,000 bblsd
(U-600) Bitumen Blowing 1,000 bblsd
(U-2100) Sour water stripper 600 bblsd
In addition to the above, there were also a number of additional utilities supporting the main
units. These are shown in table 3.
Table 3
Unit Number Description
(U-3800) Dye and stench System
(U-5100) Boiler Water and steam Production Units
(U-5200) Cooling Water
(U-5300) Desalination
(U-5400) Fuel Oil / Gas System
(U-5500) Instrument air system
(U-6100) Flare
The units in tables 2 and 3 are indicated in the block flow scheme in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1 Refinery Block Flow Scheme simplified.
2.3 Cypruss EU accession
In the year 2004 Cyprus became a full member of the European Union and therefore had to
supply its products to EU specifications. Furthermore the refinery also had to comply to the
more stringent EU effluent emissions. CPRL therefore needed to pursue and implement the
following environmental upgrading projects:
a) Isomerisation Unit - Unleaded petrol
b) Hydrofiner - Low sulphur diesel.
c) Desalter - Removal of water and other non organics from the crude oil
d) Effluent treatment
In addition to the above CPRL also needed to optimise its operational performance by:
e) Longer operation between regeneration shutdowns
f) Optimising fuel gas firing

The key drivers that have forced the refinery to close down were the governments own policy
of energy independence and foreign currency savings versus the pressure form the local
community in Larnaca. The Larnaca community felt that the refinery was an environmental
burden they no longer tolerated or were willing to bear. It is worth noting that today crude oil
refining is a profitable business and that the local community has indeed suffered financially.
2.4 The transformation process.
CPRL has achieved a doubling of capacity from the original design through two
debottlenecking projects, in 1988 and 1996. Further increases will require major capital
investments into new units and technologies something that must be considered by its new
owners.
The design and the acceptance test run crude was Arabian Light with an API of 33. The
product distribution of the test run is indicated in table 4.
Table 4 100% ARAB LIGHT
(Acceptance Test Run Results)
%woc t/d t/a*
LPG 3.8% 134.2 45628
PMS 12.9% 458.1 155754
Kerosine 10.0% 353.7 120258
Diesel 27.6% 979 332860
HPFO 42.2% 1495.1 508334
Ref. Fuel 2.9% 103.4 35156
Loss and flare 0.6% 21.5 7310
100.0% 3545 1,205,300
*Based on 340 stream days per annum
The Light Arabian yield structure results in 55% of the crude producing high value distillates
that are sold at higher prices than the crude purchase price.
From the figures in table 4 we can formulate an assessment of refining for efficiency and
effectiveness:
Efficiency is the ratio of white products per barrel of crude.
Effectiveness or refinery utilisation is the ratio of the crude processed to the maximum
possible crude that can be processed by the refinery.
It is important to note that a loss of 1% of distillate downgrading can result to an annual loss
of $1.8million. Therefore efficiency impacts profitability.

Effectiveness can be quantified in money terms as a simplified netback2 per ton of crude
processed. Therefore refining adds this value which with a refining capacity of 1.2 million
tons/annum results in a gross profitability of $190 million3. Therefore effectiveness also
impacts the profitability.
The strategic choice for being effective and efficient is balanced on a knife edge since both are
important. In order to balance and prioritise efficiency and effectiveness it must be realised that
the latter has a cost on the former.
By increasing the throughput beyond the refinerys estimated capacity results in:
poor separation between products
loss in quality and quantity of distillates.
Refining capacity depends on the type of crude processed since crudes differ. A light crude,
e.g. Bonny Light, reduces the capacity by almost 15%. Blended crudes e.g. REB can vary in
consistency, as a consequence its yield structure is not constant and can result in apparent
distillate losses.
The refinerys competitive advantage lies in the value added from refining and issues relating to
the energy strategy of its new host country.
2
The simplified netback is calculated by taking all of the revenues from the oil products, less the cost of the
crude oil.
3
Bonny Light at 3100t/d throughput.

3. Refining in Nigeria
It is estimated that demand and consumption of petroleum in Nigeria grows at a rate of 12.8%
annually4. However, petroleum products are unavailable to most Nigerians and are quite costly,
because almost all of the oil extracted by the multinational oil companies is refined overseas,
while only a limited quantity is supplied to Nigerian refineries.
There are four major oil refineries in Nigeria all owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum
Company NNPC. The total petroleum refining capacity is 445 million barrels per day although
on average the refinery utilisation is less than 40%.
i) Port Harcourt refinery in the southeast is made up of two refineries, built in 1965
and 1989. In 1993 they were merged into one, with a total capacity of 10.500
million mt/yr (210,000 bbls/d). Crude supply to both refineries is 100% Bonny
Light, supplied by pipeline from the Shell operated Bonny field. Port Harcourt
refinery performance has been consistently poor over the past 10 years, only rising
above 50% on 4 occasions. From 1993 to 1998 PH I did not operate at all. After
operating between 1999 and 2002 it has ceased operations since. The Eleme
Petrochemical plant, which was built adjacent to the Port Harcourt refinery in 1995,
has an Olefin production capacity of 483,000 mt/yr, a Polypropylene capacity of
80,000 mt/yr, and a Polyethylene production capacity of 250,000 mt/yr. Like the
refinery it has suffered from many technical problems, and has only functioned at
production levels of less than 40%.
ii) Kaduna refinery in northern Nigeria is a complex refinery designed to run light
Nigerian crude. It was built in 1980 with a capacity of 5.5 million mt/yr (110,000
b/d). A lube baseoil plant was added in 1982, and an LAB plant in 1987. The first
50,000 bpd unit, built in 1980, was a fuels unit. It was later revamped to 60,000bpd
by the addition of a pre-flash unit. In 1982, a 50,000 bpd sour crude unit was built,
designed to provide feed to a lube baseoil manufacturing plant, an asphalt plant, and
an Linear Alkyl Benzate (LAB) plant. The plant was initially designed to run
Venezuelan crude, but was later re-certified to produce lubes from Arab Light crude.
The plant can manufacture 30,000 mt/year of LAB, 15,000 mt/year of benzene, and
30,000 mt/year of kero solvent, but has not operated since 1998. A drum plant was
also installed, and a 6,000 bpd asphalt blowing unit. The refinery has been plagued
by technical malfunctions and breakdowns, and suffers from being in a location at
4
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Petroleum_in_Nigeria

the end of an insecure pipeline that is remote from the crude supply. In July 1997,
after many years of low throughput, the refinery suffered a total shutdown following
a serious fire, and did not restart until 1999.
The sweet crude unit operated reasonably well between 1999 and 2002, but a fire in
a crude heater in October 2002 caused a capacity loss. In 2003 throughput is
estimated to be around 30% of capacity, mainly due to problems on the crude
pipeline. The FCC has operated at less than 10% capacity since 1999.
iii) Warri refinery is a complex refinery located at Warri in Nigeria's Delta State, in the
south central region. It was built in 1978 with a capacity of 6.3 million mt/yr
(125,000 bbls/d). It is managed jointly with a petrochemicals plant built in 1986 to
produce 35,000 mt/yr of polypropylene and 18,000 mt/yr of carbon black. The
refinery crude supply is from the ChevronTexaco Escravos fields offshore Warri, and
from onshore fields operated by Shell, ChevronTexaco and others. The pipeline to
Kaduna refinery from the Chevron Escravos terminal passes through Warri refinery,
and the crude supply to the two refineries is largely interlinked.
In 1994 NNPCs profits were cuts from the domestic sales price of oil products from
84% to 22%, causing a cash crisis, and a virtual halt to most maintenance work.
This led to serious breakdowns. In 2003 the refinery was caught up in the tribal
unrest in the delta region, and the crude supply pipeline was cut by sabotage for
much of the year so throughput was only around 30% capacity.

4. Simulation Results and Discussions
The simulations on the crudes outlined in table 1 targeted a maximum throughput of 27,000
bbls/day i.e the refinerys nominal capacity. The simulations are based on a cooling water and
ambient air temperature of 25oC and 35oC respectively, as these temperatures are the design
temperatures for Cyprus.
The simulation results are shown in tables 5 - 10. The maximum achievable throughput is 3424
metric tons per day (26,000bbls/day), whilst processing the Forcados Crude Blend. The
product yields are also indicated in these tables as a weight percentage of the throughput. The
cut points used for the LP Model are based on best fit simulations, which are representative of
CPRL.
The target of the simulation was for the products to be within the specifications of the host
country, Nigeria and to maximise the throughput. The mode of operation chosen was one of
maximising the yield of high value distillates. The cut-points between the distillates were
chosen to meet the local specifications and to avoid the maxima imposed by the refinery
equipment limits. In some cases this can further be optimised, however at this stage it was
deemed an unnecessary exercise until local weather data are input and simulations run using
more professional software such as Hysys5.
During the operation of the reformer at CPRL, the maximum cycle achieved was nine months.
The target for this simulation is a reformer cycle duration of 15 - 18 months. This is considered
to be a comfortable run length due to the lower severity and also due to the fact that the
majority of the problems that this unit faced were those of crude shortages and water upsets.
The latter was caused in the majority of times by the transfer of water from the ship to the
refinery during unloading operations. This is to be avoided in Nigeria.
The impact of crude shortages during the refinerys operation was twofold:
Doubts of crude deliveries resulted in reducing the refinerys overall throughput in

anticipation of the next delivery that was on many occasion uncertain. The reformer
unit needs a steady throughput in order to maximise its cycle length.
Delays for deliveries of crude meant that there was insufficient time for the water to
settle and be drained from the storage tanks. The water would eventually end up in the
Reformer reactor charge and cause a unit upset, resulting in significant loss of reformer
life. Note that this can be avoided by the installation of a desalter.
5
http://www.aspentech.com/hysys/

The LPG estimated by the simulations will either be partly blended into Gasoline (20%) or
sold to LPG bottling plants. The latter will require that an LPG loading arm be installed to
transfer the LPG to trucks. Failing this the LPG can also be used as refinery fuel although this
is considered an expensive waste. Note that butane has a 92 octane number and providing
gasoline vapour pressure limitations are met, then it can be blended directly into PMS. Its
worth noting this is only sensible if the price of LPG and PMS are similar. Note that the total
demand6 for LPG in Nigeria is estimated at 150,000 metric tonnes per annum and this demand
has not to date been met. For this modest aspiration, the country would require 225 trucks,
180 bottling plants, 5.8million cylinder requirements, and 96,000 bottles/day cylinder bottling
capacity. But out of the 225 trucks required, only 131 trucks are available. Of the 5,800,000
cylinders required only 80,000 are available. There are just 50 working plants in the country,
out of the needed 180 plants, and of the 96,000 metric tonnes daily bottling capacity plants,
only 18,000 metric tonnes daily bottling capacity is accessible. Clearly there are opportunities
in this area.
4.1 Bonny Light
Bonny Light (100%) gave a maximum annual throughput of 1.054 million metric tons.
This lower throughput will impact the refinery utilization but not its profitability, the latter
is examined further below. The throughput of the API 35.1 Bonny Light is impacted by the
reformer capacity which becomes limiting for this operation. In addition the crudes high
wax content also impacts the capacity and thus the quality of the distillate and residual
fuels:
a. The Fuel Oil viscosity and pour point
b. Diesel, cloud point.
Furthermore the waxy residue from the Bonny Light will require a higher specific air
ratio in the Bitumen blowing unit which is limited by the air compressor capacity. The
latter needs to be up-rated whilst the existing compressor be used as a standby. The
addition of a higher capacity compressor will also increase both the quality as well as
the quantity of the bitumen produced.
6
http://hubpages.com/hub/oil-and-gas-Opportunities-in-LPG-Business-in-Nigeria

The yields obtained from the LP Simulation results are shown in table 5. Key product
qualities for this simulation are to be found in table 11. All simulation output files are
included in Appendix I:
Table 5 100% BONNY LIGHT

%woc t/d t/a
LPG 0.6 17 5,853
PMS 19.0 590 200,666
Kerosine 9.0 279 94,965
Diesel 41.7 1,292 439,307
HPFO 26.4 818 278,266
RFG/ RFO 3.0 93 31,543
Loss & Flare 0.3 10 3,400
Total 100.00 3,100 1,054,000
4.2 Escarvos
Escarvos (100%) results are similar to those for Bonny Light, with the annual
throughput being 0.952 million metric tons, the latter being impacted by the high
proportion of naphtha and it being limited by the reformer.
Table 6 100% ESCRAVOS
%woc t/d t/a
LPG 0.6 16.9 5739.6
PMS 20.3 567.6 192,980.9
Kerosine 11.3 315.6 107,290.4
Diesel 34.9 977.5 332,343.2
HPFO 29.6 827.9 28,1479.2
RFG/ RFO 3.0 84.6 28,766.7
Loss & Flare 0.4 10.0 3400.0
Total 100 2,800 952,000
As a result of the first two runs on Bonny Light and Escarvos, it was deemed to be
meaningless to carry out the simulations on blends of these two crudes. Furthermore it was
decided that other crudes in the vicinity of Nigeria and in particular Near East crudes would be
unsuitable, due to the premium to be paid from transportation.
Additional LP simulations on other Nigerian crudes were conducted, namely:
a) Qua Iboe
b) Pennington
c) Bonny Medium
d) Forcados Blend
4.3 Qua Iboe

Qua Iboe (100%) at 0.884 million metric tons per annum was limited by the reformer capacity
Table 7 100% QUA IBOE
%woc t/d t/a
LPG 0.8 19.5 6637.1
PMS 22.3 580.2 197252.4
Kerosine 9.3 242.6 82477.2
Diesel 36.8 957.6 325577.2
HPFO 27.4 711.4 241889.6
RFG/ RFO 3.0 78.5 26678.2
Loss & Flare 0.4 10.0 3400.0
Total 100 2,599.74 883,911.6
4.4 Pennington
Pennington (100%) at 0.833 million metric tons per annum, was limited by the diesel
pumping capacity.
Table 8 100% PENNINGTON

%woc t/d t/a
LPG 0.5 12.6 4,298.7
PMS 17.2 420.6 143,002.6
Kerosine 11.1 272.9 92,796.2
Diesel 47.4 1,160.8 394,675.4
HPFO 20.6 504.7 171,594.6
Ref. Fuel 2.8 68.3 23,232.5
Loss and flare 0.4 10.0 3,400.0
Total 100 2,450 833,000
4.5 Bonny Medium
Bonny Medium (100%) gave good results, 1.02 million metric tons per annum without the
problems related to the wax however it did not produce enough PMS and kerosene. A
possible solution to increasing the PMS and Kerosene production would be blend it with
Bonny Light in order to optimise the production and refinery throughput.
Table 9 100% BONNY MEDIUM
%woc t/d t/a
LPG 0.15 4.4 1,487.2
PMS 6.6 198.5 67,488.3
Kerosine 9.7 292.2 99,348.0
Diesel 39.9 1,196.1 406,674.0
HPFO 42.0 1,258.7 427,958.0
Ref. Fuel 1.3 40.1 13,644.5
Loss and flare 0.3 10.0 3,400.0
Total 100 3,000 1,020,000
4.6 Forcados Blend

Forcados Blend (100%) gave good results with 1.054 million metric tons per annum with
good product distribution and can be recommend for processing at CPRL or for blending
with either Bonny Light or Escarvos.
Table 10 100% FORCADOS BLEND
%woc t/d t/a
LPG 0.3 11.6 3931.4
PMS 11.2 385.1 130935.3
Kerosine 10.0 342.5 116450.0
Diesel 33.6 1150.1 391039.1
HPFO 41.6 1423.2 483875.3
Ref. Fuel 3.0 102.6 34869.0
Loss and flare 0.3 10.0 3400.0
Total 100 3425 1164500

Table 11 Product qualities
BONNY BONNY FORCADOS

Product Specification Target LIGHT ESCRAVOS MEDIUM QUA IBOE BLEND PENNINGTON
PMS RON 90 90 90 90 90 90 90
Density 15 C kg/m3 775-825 818.5 817.6 848.6 -814.02 837 815.21
Freezing point C -47 -58 -57.1 -66.3 -56.8 -61 -55.4
Recovery @200 C 20% min 52 51.1 28.1 57.3 35 53.3
ASTM D86 FBP C 300 max 241.8 241.2 252.2 241.8 251 241
DP Kerosine Flash point C 38 min 57 56.2 62.9 55.9 61 57.2
Viscosity 38'C cSt 1.6-5.5 max 1.33 4.67 4.97 4 4.9 4.18
Smoke point mm 22 max 19.6 19.5 12 20.7 15 20.5
Sulphur % wt Feed to HDT 0.14 max 0.021 0.032 0.04 0.024 0 0.014
Sulphur % wt HDT product max 2 ppm 2 ppm 2 ppm 2 ppm 2 ppm 2 ppm
Density 15 C kg/m3 820-870 865.9 868.4 893.9 860.1 883.0 858.74
Cloud point C, rundown 4.4 max 13.9 18.6 -7.1 13 2 10.9
Sulphur %wt, rundown 0.3 max 0.112 0.133 0.155 0.099 0.126 0.064
AGO BLEND Flash point C, rundown 60 min 103.1 106.1 108.7 101.6 105.7 101.7
Recovery at 357 C 90 min 94 92.3 96.2 93.5 44 95.8
Viscosity 38 C cSt 1,6-5,5 4.5 4.87 2.03 4.0 2.0 4.18
Cetane Index 47 min 47 46 38.1 48.8 40 47.5
Density 15 C kg/m3 995 max 940.7 940.72 957.5 938.91 947.15 937.19
Viscosity 82 C cSt, LR 60-9t 30.6 40.95 37.7 33.57 31.42 23.92
HPFO
LR pour point C 24 max 39.8 47.8 30.7 45.5 39.90 42.6
Wax Content 16.2 19.8 11.1 17.1 10.30 13.6

Process Flow Diagram for Arabian Light (Acceptance Test Run)

The process flow diagram above indicates the original refinery configuration when
processing Arabian Light crude.
The utility requirements for the Arabian Light Acceptance test run case is shown in table 12
below.
Table 12 Utility Requirement
Existing plant
Electricity Kwh 60,850
Fuel Gas t/d 50
Fuel oil t/d 50
Cooling water m3/d 50,000
LP/MP steam t/d 100
HP steam t/d 450
BFW (Demineliriser) t/d 200
CPRL has 11 Heaters and 2 Boilers that were all connected to a common stack. Exhaust
heat from the platformer heaters (H301, H302 and H303R) is recovered in a waste heat
Boiler. The duty and efficiency of the main heaters when the refinery is at full load is
indicated in table 13.
Table 13 Fired Heater Duty

Furnace Service Fuel Duty MW Efficiency
H101 CDU Dual 14.7 74.1%
(12.0*)
H102 CDU Gas 7.0 (6.0*) 82.8%
H501 VDU Dual 2.6 72.9%
H201 HDT Dual 3.0 79.9%
H202 Stabiliser Reboiler Dual 5.0 77.7%
H203 Splitter Reboiler Dual 1.1 77.8%
H301 Platformer Charge Dual 3.9 84% (72%)
st
H302 Platformer 1 Inter Dual 6.0 84% (78%)
H303R Platformer 2nd Inter Dual 3.1 82% (64%)
H304 Platformer Reboiler Oil 1.6 70.0
B5101/2 Boiler Dual 16.0 77.0
* Arabian Light Acceptance test run
Value without the Waste Heat Boiler
4.7 Gross Profitability Netback comparison
A simplified netback value of the processed products when the crudes outlined in the
sections above are processed at CPRL is shown in table 14. As can be seen, maximising the
throughput does not necessarily increase the profitability. This is particularly evident when
we compare the base case (Light Arabian Acceptance Test run results) with Bonny Light.

Here even though we have a reduction in the feed rate of 15%, the profit margin from
Bonny Light is still higher than that of the base case. Table 13 illustrates this more clearly.
Table 14 Crude Netback Comparison

Crude Throughput Netback Annual Netback
Arab Light 1,205,286 $150.12 $180,931,454
BONNY LIGHT 1,054,000 $179.14 $188,813,996
Bonny Medium 1,020,000 $150.54 $153,555,652
ESCRAVOS 952,000 $175.03 $166,627,092
QUA IBOE 883,912 $178.47 $157,749,720
FORCADOS BLEND 1,164,500 $150.53 $175,289,745
PENNINGTON 833,000 $189.49 $157,841,368
The comparison above was created using a crude price of $65/bbl and product prices from
EIA (USA) Spot Prices for Crude Oil and Petroleum Products 7. It does not include
manpower & operating costs, provision for volume & non volume related costs,
depreciation, tax and capital costs for financing the project. It is a simple comparison
between the processing of the available crudes particularly since the associated costs will
not vary a great deal between them. A full evaluation / feasibility study based on experiential
data is outside the scope here.
7
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pri_spt_s1_d.htm

5. Conclusions
The refining of Nigerian crudes has been shown by these LP simulations to be possible as
well as profitable. Bonny Light crude gave the best results in terms of profitability however
the other crudes examined also allow for a favourable refining margin although to a lesser
extent. The final choice of crude will depend on its availability and ultimately its purchase
price. It is possible to run the refinery with a combination of the crudes examined here
although Blend simulations have not been run.
The limitations faced by the refinery at its Larnaca location for example crude delivery and
crude consistency need to be eliminated at its new location in Nigeria.
In table 14 the plant limitations / bottlenecks are shown. The refinery throughput is set by
these limits as well as the limits imposed by the product specifications.
The product specifications from the simulation are indicated in table 6 as are the target
specification. These targets can met particularly in the case of Diesel by downgrading into
Fuel oil. Flare can be minimised by the installation of a flare gas compressor.
Table 14 Plant limitations
Target
8
Flare 10
Fuel gas production t/d 9 55
LPG production, t/d 130
Naphtha production, t/d 10 550
Kero minus prodn, t/d 11 1300
Gasoil production, t/d 12 1150
8
Maximum economic setting
9
Furnace Flame Impingement
10
Reformer Maximum capacity
11
Transfer pump Maximum
12
Transfer pump Maximum

6. Recommendations
Bottlenecks imposed from tankage shortages need to be eliminated at the outset, by

building adequate storage. For example it is recommended that intermediate tanks are build
to hold the Naphtha and allow the running of the refinery during the regeneration of the
reformer. In addition SR Tops/ light gasoline (mainly C5) needs to have adequate storage
also for the same reason. The tankage necessary for both cases should allow running of the
refinery for 10 days. It may be possible for the latter to be run down into the MOGAS tanks
and therefore a smaller tank can be built.
Of the Environmental upgrade projects that were necessary for the Refinery to remain in
operation in Cyprus the following are no longer required:
1. The necessity of the Isomerisation unit is negated since the Octane target is 90RON
that can easily be achieved by blending the various PMS components such as
Butane, SR Tops and Platformate. The latter will be produced by the reformer whilst
operating at 93 RON severity. The target severity at the Larnaca location was 98
RON. High severity results in a shorter Reformer life cycle and lower platformate
yield.
2. The hydrofiner is also no longer required since in the first instance Nigerian crudes
are sweet and secondly the regions Diesel sulphur limit is not exceeded. Further
reduction in the sulphur content can be achieved by downgrading Kerosene into the
diesel. The former is sulphur free as it is hydrotreated. This has the additional benefit
of improving both the Cetane numbers and cloud point. Downgrading of Kerosine
into Fuel oil is also of benefit when difficulties due to the high wax content impact
the products pour point.
3. The necessity for the desalter has already been indicated in the above sections due to
its benefits of reducing the risk of Reformer upsets. Additional benefits include
reduced equipment corrosion and prolonging the plants life. It may be possible to do
away with the desalter if a crude holding tank is placed upstream of the refinery, to
allow the crude to settle and for any water and sediment to be drained. Note
however that storing of crude oil for any length of time is costly due to the capital
involved and the associated opportunity cost i.e. loss of interest on that capital.
4. An effluent treatment unit will be necessary since this was not included in the
original purchase price. In any case the existing equipment were of a very old
technology that would not meet todays strict specifications.

Other areas of worthwhile investment include:
The addition of a fourth reformer reactor, swing reactor, to allow higher feed rates
(H301 may be impacted here) as well as regeneration without shutting down the
unit.
A flare gas recovery compressor 13 is considered essential as it will reduce flaring

and will increase profitability. In addition it will allow the recovery of high value
hydrocarbons and the running of the atmospheric distillation column at a pressure
closer to atmospheric.
Conversion of some heaters to run on gas, using low NOx burners and that the
crude heater itself be replaced with a modern higher efficiency heater (currently
74% new 92%) that utilises gas as a fuel. The additional gas will be recovered from
the flare gas recovery unit.
A revamp of the vacuum creating unit14, will allow the re-installation of the vacuum
column internals and pave the way for additional capacity and a reduction in the
energy, cooling water and sour water treatment requirement. This will increase the
feed to the bitumen unit which in conjunction with a higher capacity air
compressor15, will also increase the production of bitumen. The additional waxy
distillate produced can be sold as a product to refineries with lube producing
capacity. Alternatively UOPs Unifining process can be employed that can reduce
the pour point by up to 50oC and reduce further the sulphur content. In addition the
process will produce up to 25% naphtha.
13
http://www.hijet.com/
14
15

Appendix I LP Results






Appendix II - Nigerian Product Specifications
Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) Specifications

Dual Purpose Kerosine (DPKero) Specifications

Automotive Gas Oil (AGO / Diesel) Specifications

Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) Specifications

Appendix III - List of Purchased equipment
Description Number
Vessels and Columns 87
Heat Exchangers 92
Pumps, Compressors & Turbines 290
Heaters and Boilers 12
Tanks 12
Valves 333
Piping. 18 km

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Nigerian Crude Processing at the Cyprus Petroleum Refinery Ltd PSA Consultants Ltd.

Nigerian Crude Processing at the Cyprus Petroleum Refinery Ltd

Dr. George Georgiadis 1 31/9/2009

Dr. George Georgiadis 2 31/9/2009

i. 100% feed of Bonny Light

Dr. George Georgiadis 3 31/9/2009

2.2 CPRL A Brief Background

Dr. George Georgiadis 4 31/9/2009

Figure 1 Refinery Block Flow Scheme simplified.

2.3 Cypruss EU accession

a) Isomerisation Unit - Unleaded petrol

b) Hydrofiner - Low sulphur diesel.

e) Longer operation between regeneration shutdowns

f) Optimising fuel gas firing

Dr. George Georgiadis 5 31/9/2009

2.4 The transformation process.

Dr. George Georgiadis 6 31/9/2009

Dr. George Georgiadis 7 31/9/2009

Dr. George Georgiadis 8 31/9/2009

Dr. George Georgiadis 9 31/9/2009

4. Simulation Results and Discussions

Doubts of crude deliveries resulted in reducing the refinerys overall throughput in

Dr. George Georgiadis 10 31/9/2009

4.1 Bonny Light

a. The Fuel Oil viscosity and pour point

b. Diesel, cloud point.

Dr. George Georgiadis 11 31/9/2009

Table 5 100% BONNY LIGHT

Additional LP simulations on other Nigerian crudes were conducted, namely:

4.3 Qua Iboe

Dr. George Georgiadis 12 31/9/2009

Table 8 100% PENNINGTON

4.5 Bonny Medium

4.6 Forcados Blend

Dr. George Georgiadis 13 31/9/2009

Dr. George Georgiadis 14 31/9/2009

Table 11 Product qualities

BONNY BONNY FORCADOS

Dr. George Georgiadis 15 31/9/2009

Process Flow Diagram for Arabian Light (Acceptance Test Run)

Dr. George Georgiadis 16 31/9/2009

Table 12 Utility Requirement

Table 13 Fired Heater Duty

4.7 Gross Profitability Netback comparison

Dr. George Georgiadis 17 31/9/2009

Table 14 Crude Netback Comparison

Dr. George Georgiadis 18 31/9/2009

Table 14 Plant limitations

Dr. George Georgiadis 19 31/9/2009

Bottlenecks imposed from tankage shortages need to be eliminated at the outset, by

Dr. George Georgiadis 20 31/9/2009

Other areas of worthwhile investment include:

A flare gas recovery compressor 13 is considered essential as it will reduce flaring

Dr. George Georgiadis 21 31/9/2009

Dr. George Georgiadis 22 31/9/2009

Dr. George Georgiadis 23 31/9/2009

Dr. George Georgiadis 24 31/9/2009

Dr. George Georgiadis 25 31/9/2009

Dr. George Georgiadis 26 31/9/2009

Dr. George Georgiadis 27 31/9/2009

Appendix II - Nigerian Product Specifications

Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) Specifications

Dr. George Georgiadis 28 31/9/2009

Dual Purpose Kerosine (DPKero) Specifications