Slovnaft to shut down 9 production units at refinery for maintenance in spring

• the cycle of planned turnarounds in 2023 starts in the second half of April with the shutdown of the gasoline, sulphur and polypropylene technologies
• about 250 external staff will be involved in planned turnarounds along with internal employees
• full production is expected in the first half of May 2023

Bratislava, 14th April 2023 – With the gradual shutdown of nine production units, the spring part of the planned turnarounds at the Slovnaft refinery will start on 17th April 2023. This represents a fifth of all production assets. Cleaning, maintenance and minor investments relate to technologies primarily focused on the production of gasoline. Customers will not be affected by the planned turnarounds.

Among the units, included in the spring turnarounds, are two key fuel technologies – RHC (Residual Hydrocracking) and hydrogen production of the Hydrokrak complex. Along with them, the sulphur production technology and other operations in the refinery section will be shut down. In the petrochemical part, the Polypropylene 3 production unit (PP3) is included in the calendar of planned spring turnarounds.

„The purpose of the turnarounds is checks and inspections required by legislation, cleaning of equipment and smaller investment projects covering the installation of new control valves and replacement of equipment at the end of its life,“ explains Martin Bičan, Manager of Planned Turnarounds at Slovnaft.

The implementation phase of the planned spring turnarounds will be executed by the Slovnaft subsidiary Slovnaft Montáže a opravy, which has specialists and equipment for the specific requirements of the refinery. In addition to the internal employees of the SLOVNAFT Group, about 250 employees of specialised external companies will participate in the turnarounds.

Safety is a priority for planned turnarounds. Slovnaft has been organising safety trainings for its own employees and suppliers since March. The trainings are aimed at refreshing basic safety rules and process safety management. Lessons from specific events from previous turnarounds were also used in their preparation. Waste management is also part of the training.

During the turnarounds, maintenance and start-up of the technologies, especially during the first three days, residents in the vicinity of the refinery may register accompanying phenomena - odour during the opening and steaming of the equipment and slight burning on the field burners. Slovnaft informs about the impact of the works on the comfort of the inhabitants in the application  Sused Slovnaft. The data is regularly updated. Even during the planned turnarounds, Slovnaft's priority is to minimize negative impacts on the surrounding town districts and villages. After maintenance, the production units should go into full operation in the first half of May. Slovnaft plans to shut down three more production units this autumn.