LUKoil installed a coking unit with a capacity of 1 million tons a year at its Volgograd refinery to raise the quality of fuels it produces.
The completion of the unit is an "important step in large-scale refinery modernization aimed to eliminate fuel oil from production," chief executive Vagit Alekperov said Wednesday in a statement. LUKoil also plans to start output from a diesel hydro-treating unit at the Volgograd plant next year, he said.
Last month, Russia increased export taxes on residual products such as fuel oil and plans to raise the duty further in 2015 as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pushes oil companies to make higher-quality refined products.
(Bloomberg)