Bahrain’s state-owned oil firm Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) has awarded a major catalyst management contract to US-based clean fuels group specialist Advanced Refining Technologies (ART).
ART is a joint venture between WR Grace & Company, a US specialty chemicals and materials company, and Chevron, the world’s largest oil and gas company.
According to the reports, the $240 million worth exclusive five-year agreement, which includes the option to renew for another five years, is the largest catalyst management agreement in Bapco’s history.
This award is part of the Bapco Modernization Programme (BMP) to boost processing capacity at the refinery. Bapco will increase Bahrain’s oil refinery processing capacity from 267,000 to 380,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Furthermore, ART will provide its Resid Hydrocracking catalyst technology for a wide range of feedstocks to maximize bottom-of-the-barrel upgrading. It will also offer full-cycle catalyst management (FCM) services for the reclamation of metals from spent catalysts.
Dr. Dawood Nassif Chairman & CEO Bapco
“Our new hydrocracking unit will convert 78 percent of the vacuum residue feed into intermediate products, which will then be further processed into high margin kerosene and diesel. A key component is catalyst performance and management, and the unique agreement signed with ART, who will be responsible for the total supply chain of catalyst from cradle to cradle. This agreement has taken over 18 months to develop and negotiate, and I thank all the parties involved in making this a success.”
Mr. Jag Reddy, Managing Director of ART said, “This award is significant. It demonstrates the superiority of our catalyst technology and our ability to provide value through unmatched global support and technical services. I want to thank Bapco for their vote of confidence.”
“They will benefit tremendously over the life of this agreement through maximum conversion, lower operating costs, reliability, and longer run lengths. Most importantly, Bapco will free up valuable time and resources,” Mr. Reddy added.
When fully operational in 2023, the new Resid Hydrocracking unit known as 1RHCU will be the main profit center for the Bapco Refinery, WR Grace & Company said in a statement. “1RHCU utilizes LC-Fining process technology licensed from Chevron Lummus Global (CLG), a joint venture between Chevron and Lummus Technology,” as per the reports.
Bapco will be the first company in the Middle East to use this cutting-edge technology. There are fewer than a dozen of these units in the world, and the Bapco unit will be one of the largest, the company further added.
