As part of the first project, work was under way in 2019 on its business optimisation with a view to maximising the rate of return on the investment. Also, a technical consultancy and PMC+ (Project Management Contractor) contract was executed, which will help the Company to optimally prepare the project and deliver it within the planned budget and schedule. A licence agreement and front-end engineering design contract for the Phenol plant were concluded with UOP under the Phenol II project. As regards Aromatic Derivatives, work is ongoing to maximise the rate of return on the investment and to effectively integrate the new plant with other assets of the ORLEN Group.
As part of the BIO development , a number of other economically viable projects are being carried out, primarily at the refinery, including the construction of a separate unit for the production of biofuel components through the HVO process. In 2019, the licence and front-end engineering design were purchased under the project. Another significant venture is the construction of a visbreaking unit, which will increase the conversion rate of crude into high-margin distillates.
As part of the Research and Development Centre project, the building permit was obtained, preparatory work on the construction site was completed, and a contract with the project’s general contractor, Budimex S.A., was executed on April 24th 2019. The following works were completed by the end of 2019: design work for the main facilities, construction work on the office building, and major works related to external systems and utilities.
In 2019, R&D projects were carried out jointly with Polish universities and scientific institutes. Such cooperation also involved foreign research centres, participating in joint initiatives under Horizon 2020. More than 50 R&D projects were in the pre-implementation or implementation phase in 2019, of which five were co-financed out of national public funds (the INNOCHEM sectoral programme) and under EU programmes (Horizon 2020). An example worth mentioning is the completion of the essential part of research on the ‘Development of a process technology for hydrotreatment of diesel oil fractions with vegetable oils as a potential source of bio-components for diesel oil’. Following industrial tests in 2018, in 2019 approval tests were carried out concerning the use of diesel oil blended with a co-processed component. The work outcomes served to define the quality guidelines for diesel oil products. In addition, work on the KORMON project was continued in 2019, with a view to developing and installing dual corrosion sensors at the refinery.
In 2019, PKN ORLEN was also engaged in studies into the use of the innovative MaxEne technology from Honeywell UOP, which should contribute to achieving higher margins on fuels and petrochemicals at the Płock production plant. Should a decision on its implementation be made, the Płock production plant would be the first plant in Europe and the second one in the world to implement the MaxEne technology increasing the yields of high-margin products, such as gasoline, ethylene and paraxylene.