OREANDA-NEWS. July 14, 2011. In the first six months of 2011 TNK-BP has invested over 2.3 billion Rubles to refurbish and upgrade production facilities at the Saratov Refinery and it intends to bring these investments up to 7.5 billion rubles by the end of the year, said Alexander Romanov, OJSC Saratov Oil Refinery Director General, at a press-conference, reported the press-centre of TNK-BP.

Saratov Oil Refinery’s investment program for 2011-2012 is set at over 300 million USD. Under this program TNK-BP is planning to build a 300 thousand ton per annum isomerization unit, refurbish the hydrotreatment facility and implement a number of other projects to introduce Euro-5 compliant products and increase throughput from 6 to 7 – 7.5 million ton per annum.

“The Saratov Oil Refinery completed a set of measures in 2010 to improve production quality. As a result, at the beginning of the year the refinery launched diesel fuel and grade 95 gasoline production in compliance with Euro-4 environmental standards. We also plan to finish refurbishing our hydrotreatment facility by the end of 2011, which will allow us to launch Euro-5 compliant fuel production”, said Alexander Romanov.

“The Saratov Refinery and TNK-BP as a whole significantly contributed to the stabilization in the region during the fuel crisis. The refinery introduced a schedule and delivered uninterrupted shipments, ultimately preventing a frenzy in the fuel market”, said Sergei Lisovsky, minister for industry and energy of the Saratov Oblast.