RusEnergy

Wednesday, March 9, 2005 Reuters Dmitry Beliakov / bloomberg - Russian refineries processed 194 million tons of crude last year, up 3 percent. Russian refineries boosted light oil products output in 2004 due to bigger throughput, modernization and amid booming demand for high-octane gasoline while fuel oil production declined, new data from the Industry and Energy Ministry showed. Russian refineries processed 194.08 million tons of crude oil (3.89 million barrels per day) in 2004, or 3 percent more than in 2003, the ministry said. Gasoline production rose by 4.1 percent to 30.47 million tons, gas oil output increased by 3.1 percent to 55.40 million tons while fuel oil output fell 1.8 percent to 53.35 million tons. Sales by major foreign carmakers jumped by 80 percent in Russia in 2004 and could grow by another 40 percent in 2005 as the economy has been growing over the past five years. Russian carmakers are also switching to engines that run on high-octane gasoline, prompting refiners to implement costly upgrades. Russia boosted refining by 3 percent in 2004 mainly due to bigger runs at Nizhnekamsk, Ufa, LUKoil's Volgograd and Norsi, Surgut's Kirishi, Yukos' Syzran and Angarsk, Sibneft's Omsk, Slavneft's Yaroslavl and TNK-BP's Saratov and Ryazan units. Kirishi, near St. Petersburg, remained Russia's single biggest refinery, followed by Omsk in Siberia, Norsi in the Volga region and Yaroslavl. The biggest drop in refining volumes was on Rosneft's Komsomol plant and Ufimsk refinery. LUKoil's Ukhta also refined less crude as it sent more oil directly from the refinery to export markets by rail. The biggest boost in gasoline production in 2004 was on LUKoil's Norsi refinery, which produced 1.4 million tons or 13.5 percent more gasoline due to upgrades. Sibneft's Omsk, Russia's most modern refinery, remained the leader in gasoline production with output at 3.2 million tons, followed by TNK-BP's Ryazan, which enjoyed a large upgrade in the past years, with 2.4 million tons. Sibneft's Omsk remained the leader in gas oil production with output of 4.64 million tons, up 1 percent year-on-year, while decreasing fuel oil output by 4 percent to 2.07 million tons. Nizhnekamsk, Ufa and Novo-Ufimsk as well as TNK-BP's Ryazan and LUKoil's Perm also boosted gas oil production and cut fuel oil output. Surgut's Kirishi and LUKoil's Volgograd implemented a different strategy, boosting both gas oil and fuel oil output by 6.4 and 7.7 percent respectively.