UOP, a Honeywell company, has been selected by National Refinery Limited (NRL) to provide its processing technology maximize diesel and lubricant production in Pakistan.
UOP will deliver its Uniflex technology for the project to upgrade heavy residue into high-value distillate products.
Uniflex helps refiners process the bottom of the barrel, the heaviest portions of a barrel of crude also known as vacuum residue, into transportation fuels and other products.
The technology can deliver 90% conversion of vacuum residue to transportation fuels while minimizing by-products.
The technology will also be integrated with the Honeywell subsidiary’s Unionfining hydro processing system to process distillates into diesel fuel and naphtha into feedstock used for gasoline production.
NRL will also convert vacuum gas oil from the refinery to diesel and lube base oils using UOP’s Unicracking and fuels de-waxing technologies.
The technology was provided by an alliance between Honeywell’s UOP and ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company.
The NRL refinery will produce about 40,000bpd of diesel fuel and 4,500bpd of lube base oils, when it begins operations in 2016.
Currently, NRL operates three refineries and a petrochemicals plant in Pakistan.
