To go down in history: Nizhnekamskneftekhim recruiting staff for future ethylene complex

The petrochemists offered graduates of related educational establishments to become part of the olefin complex team

Vacancies in a modern plant of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC — EP-600 olefin complex — will open in three months already, July 2021. A CV can already be submitted. Workers of Nizhnekamskneftekhim told students of Nizhnekamsk Chemical Technological Institute (NCTI) about what salary and social guarantees awaited the applicants as well as the details of the implementation of the key investment project. Realnoe Vremya’s correspondent attended the meeting too.

The construction of record capacity complex is full steam

“It is a milestone! The EP-600 plant that is under construction will be comparable to NKNK’s operating factories from a perspective of its capacity, assortment and further processing,” Rector of the NCTI Ildar Akhmetov noted opening the meeting.

“The plant will need specialists who will be able to master one of the world’s latest and modern technologies. You have such an opportunity.”

After that, the NCTI rector gave the floor to the EP-600 Directorate’s chief engineer Andrey Yegorov:

“Last time we met with NCTI students last September. At that moment, the construction of the plant was just beginning. Today you can what progress has been made,” he noted proudly and showed a presentation of the new plant on the screen. Photos started to alternate illustrating the scale of the construction.

According to Andrey Yegorov, the construction of the record capacity Ethylene-600 olefin complex is full steam. Germany’s Linde company is the designer of the project and engineering documentation. The complex is going to process nearly 1,8 million tonnes of naphtha a year. It is planned to manufacture 600,000 tonnes of ethylene, 273,000 tonnes of propylene, 245,000 tonnes of benzene, 88,000 tonnes of butadiene from all this feedstock.

Now around 2,000 people are working and more than 200 pieces of machinery are used on the construction site. The foundation is laid, metal structures are erected for equipment and construction bridges.

Latest environmental technologies are introduced at EP-600

The students learnt that the main large equipment for the ethylene complex was manufactured in South Korea and China. It was delivered to Nizhnekamsk by special ships through the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Suez Canal as well as Russian rivers.

To transport the freight from the Nizhnekamsk River Port to the construction site, roads were deliberately expanded and all obstacles on the way were removed, temporary installations were built.

Chief engineer of the EP-600 Directorate Andrey Yegorov noted the eco-friendliness of the new olefin complex.

“Specialists took care of environmental safety as early as at design stage. A site that’s remote from the city was chosen for construction. The new plant doesn’t include arable lands as well as natural ecosystems that have a special value and conservation status,” he stressed.

Continuous Emission Monitoring System

Emissions of volatile substances at the EP-600 will be limited by minimising the number of flanges and using high-quality insulation systems. Emissions of inflammable, explosive and toxic media from ventilation, drainage and safety systems end up in a closed flare system.

Gas extraction to the flare reduced in case of process failures thanks to the use of highly reliable process management systems. The Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS) will operate at the EP-600. An operator will see parameters that are measured in different formats on the screen, and data can be stored long-term and reports can be made.

A gas hazard detection system is envisaged to control gas contamination in the workplace and in the open air. It will make a signal as soon as it detects the content of harmful and explosive gases is above the norm.

If gas contamination is 20% above the lower explosive limit, the alarm in the operator’s room and on the site of the accident will turn on. And as soon as this indicator reaches 50%, manufacturing equipment will turn off automatically, and an emergency extractor fan will start to run.

“Industrial sewage as well as surface water contaminated with hydrocarbons will be treated in local treatment facilities. After that, water will go back to the water supply system, which, in turn, will allow reducing river water consumption. Liquid residues at the EP-600 will be disinfected in a special incinerator. A director impact on the soil and water bodies is excluded in the use of the EP-600 in routine mode. The territory will have a solid surface and an effective surface sewage collection, drainage and local treatment system,” Andrey Yegorov said.

600 new jobs to appear

The olefin complex also means a significant rise in taxes and payments to all budget levels, the creation of over 600 new jobs.

“The construction and assembly works are underway. In 2022, we plan to start start-up and commissioning. Each of you can be involved in the construction of the modern complex, gain a huge experience. We want you to be on our team, go down in the enterprise’s history very much,” Andrey Yegorov addressed the students.

He has also noted that every young specialist will have a mentor who will help, advise and teach how to work.

“What will the salary be like?” the students wondered.

“Good and, most importantly, stable,” the chief engineer assured them.

After these words, the audience notably revived. The students admitted to Realnoe Vremya’s correspondent that the offer to try their hand at one of Russia’s largest petrochemical factories is enticing.

“My dad works at Nizhnekamskneftekhim. I also decided to work in petrochemistry. The presentation of the plant has turned out to be interesting. I think we should try,” Kirill Kurbatov, a third-year NCTI student, said.

“I didn’t know such a plant was built in our city. It is a good idea to work there, gain experience, especially for a young specialist,” noted Lidiya Saunina, a first-year NCTI student.

“It is good news that a modern olefin complex will appear in our city and, more importantly, each of us can find a job there. I would like to see the plant first-hand, not in photos,” first-year student Yevgeny Fyodorov stressed.

The petrochemists said that the students could ask all their questions about employment on Instagram.

“NKNK has its own educational centre, we can retrain you, upgrade your qualification, refer you to free targeted training. We do our best to make sure the young specialist doesn’t feel lonely. We will help you with everything, consider wishes with the help of an online survey. We are waiting for your feedback,” noted head of HR Department at Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC Lilia Yaryoma noted.

The young people shared their impressions in the online survey. As a result of which it turned out that 94% of the audience learnt new information about the plant that was built. The students think that such meetings create an image of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC as a future employer. The students learnt that they could already submit their CV, vacancies are going to open in July 2021. At the end of the meeting, university teachers asked for an excursion to the construction site of the EP-600 olefin complex so that young people could personally assess the scale of the would-be plant.

Affiliate report

By Lilia Yegorova. Photo courtesy of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC
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