ENKA was awarded the contract in September 2011, for the electro-mechanical installation work on the Khabarovsk Refinery, in the Russian Federation.

The Khabarovsk Refinery Hydroprocessing Project consists of a major expansion of the existing Khabarovsk refinery, to increase plant capacity, improve performance and address both Russian and international requirements for the reduction of the sulphur content of kerosene and diesel products.

The work included new combined Hydrocracking, Hydrotreating and Hydrogen Units. The associated utilities and offsites, together with the associated upgrades and infrastructure modifications and interconnecting pipe racks were also included.

The scope of the project also consisted of all related pre-commissioning activities, such as motor run tests, loop checks, coupling alignment and pump sealing.

The project was effectively a ‘brownfield’ project. The hydrogen unit was constructed on a site previously occupied by a crude distillation unit. Brownfield nature of the work, compact plot area, rough climate, and performance of works around operating plant created unique challenges for the project team. ENKA utilized construction best practices, its vast winterization experience, and extensive planning to address the challenges.

Khabarovsk Refinery is located near the center of Khabarovsk City, surrounded by heavily populated urban neighborhoods. Very limited area within the jobsite was allocated for laydown and temporary construction facilities. ENKA set up various temporary camps in and around the city and housing and transportation issues were mitigated by establishing a strong team to enhance workforce availability and retention. ENKA worked in compliance with European as well as Russian norms and standards for the execution of the project. Several high pressure and high temperature tie-ins have been completed successfully resulting in excellent safety performance.

ENKA was engaged by Technical Reunidas to provide structural, mechanical, piping, electrical, instrumentation, painting and insulation construction services for the project including pre-commissioning and commissioning of three units, namely hydrocracking, hydrotreating and hydrogen production. The project workforce reached 1,400 people during the peak periods of the work.