Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC awarded first-degree diploma at Tatarstan Petrochemical Forum

Kazan is a platform for building business contacts

Tatarstan and its capital Kazan have long been the unique platform for constructive dialogue and building new business ties. The Tatarstan Petrochemical Forum, which unites under its wing three major industry exhibitions: the 26th International Specialized Exhibition Oil, Gas. Petrochemicals, the 9th Specialized Exhibition GEO-Kazan: Geological Survey. Geodesy. Cartography, and the 5th International Specialized Exhibition of Plastics and Rubber Interplastika Kazan 2019 — the meeting place to discuss innovations, agreements and contacts in the field of oil and gas production, refining and petrochemistry. The business part of the forum alone includes five international scientific conferences, a number of workshops and round table discussions.

Anticipating the demand

Traditionally, President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov is the first to get acquainted with the novelties of the industry at the petrochemical forum. As usual, the leader of the republic visited the stand of TAIF Group. In particular, accompanied by Deputy Head of the Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Supervision Alexander Trembitsky, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Oleg Bocharov, President of the Union of Oil and Gas Producers of Russia Gennady Schmal and Director General of TAIF PSC Ruslan Shigabutdinov, Rustam Minnikhanov lingered near the exposition of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC for a long time, where Director General Azat Bikmurzin presented the achievements of the enterprise in the production of plastics and rubbers.

“We are in the top 10 in the world for the production of synthetic rubbers. Today, Nizhnekamskneftekhim produces 730,000 tonnes of synthetic rubbers a year. We have the task — to bring the volume to one million tonnes a year,” Azat Bikmurzin said.

What is more, he was talking not only about the already manufactured types of products but also about the development of new areas:

“We are developing new types of rubber — it is divinyl-styrene rubber. We are planning to launch it next year, in May. It will focus on the production of premium segment tires. The ‘green’ tires that provide fuel economy, low noise, high wear resistance and level of traction. These are the fifth generation rubbers, which will be in demand by the market at the time of production launch, and for at least ten years in the future. This is the premium market,” Azat Bikmurzin said about one of the directions of development of Nizhnekamskneftekhim.

“Are these rubbers produced by few companies?” Rustam Minnikhanov clarified.

“Yes, only a couple of companies in the world have established the production of the fifth generation of rubbers,” Director General of TAIF PSC Ruslan Shigabutdinov confirmed.

“The installation, which will produce these rubbers, is unique. It not only allows to produce rubbers of the fifth generation but also provides possibility of production of what is known as thermoelastoplasts, that is, the additives for the production of good bitumen. We are planning to produce up to 10,000 tonnes of such products at this unit,” Azat Bikmurzin shared. The thermoplastic materials are necessary for the construction of roads that have a large resource, resistance to temperature and humidity changes. Such asphalt is necessary for the Russian regions.

For another already implemented project — the organization of the production of methoxypolyethylene glycols (MPEG) — Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC has been awarded a first degree diploma in the category “Products with New or Improved Characteristics” of the contest “Best Exhibit. Best project or Best Technical Solution”, traditionally held within the Tatarstan Petrochemical Forum.

Not only rubbers and plastics

Also, there was the time in the presentation to talk about the reconstructed biological treatment plants (BOS). At the end of August, the Tatarstan president himself took part in the grand commissioning ceremony of the second stage of the BOS complex.

For the federal guests and representatives of foreign states who participated in the tour around the exhibition, Rustam Minnikhanov said that the work continues — a new collector for industrial effluents is being under construction.

“The total length of the collector is about 15 km. It is being built using the technology of microtunneling with a pipe diameter of 1,200 mm. Not much has left, we are finishing already this year,” the CEO of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC explained.

New horizons

Nizhnekamskneftekhim has its own strategic programme. It is designed until 2030. It includes all anchor projects. First of all, it is the ethylene complex. The first stage — 600,000 tonnes of ethylene. We have already completed the basic design for it. Then we go according to the plan: next year — the supply of equipment and the beginning of the construction. It is planned to implement this stage until 2023. The second stage — all derivatives of the ethylene complex. It is plastics, and possibly polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene. Several variants of such directions, including propylene oxide, and other types of products, are being under consideration. I think in the near future we decide on a clear perimeter of the project — what exactly will be produced, in addition to ethylene. We are talking about completely new products and industries. The existing facilities have already been upgraded and are operating at almost the maximum. Here we are talking about new projects,” Azat Bikmurzin explained in an interview with Realnoe Vremya.

Then it is the next stage: the complex for another 600,000 tonnes of ethylene a year. The total production volume of ethylene — 1,800,000 tonnes. For the new volume of ethylene, a new perimeter of derivatives demanded by the Russian and world markets will be worked out. This phase is expected to be completed by 2030.

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