Russian refinery to produce EU-compliant fuel

Russian oil producer, TNK-BP, has upgraded its Ryazan refinery to produce gasoline that meets Euro-5 environmental standards.

The plant, which is half-owned by BP, is set to produce 104,000 metric tons of the 95-octane fuel in July and increase output to 125,000 tons in the coming months, it said in a statement.

Euro-5 standards were introduced by the EU in 2007 to regulate limits on pollutant emissions from light road vehicles, particularly for emissions of nitrogen particulates and oxides.

Ryazan is TNK-BP’s largest plant in Russia with a processing capacity of 341,000 barrels of crude a day, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Russia, which links taxes on motor fuels to its environmental impact, reduced the levy on low-sulfur Euro-5 gasoline to 5,143 rubles (USD 156.86) a tonne from 1 July from 6,822 rubles previously.

Euro-5 gasoline has a maximum sulphur content of 10 parts per million; the lower the sulfur content, the less pollution.

Russian oil giant Rosneft is also working on systematically implementing a large-scale plan for modernisation of its refineries to achieve greater refining depth and improve output qualities. The upgrades will lead to more efficient use of raw hydrocarbons, increased value-added on petroleum products and include compliance with Euro-4 and Euro-5 emission standards, says the company.