Unplanned Overhaul at Tamoil's Collombey Refinery

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Tamoil SA (Geneva, Switzerland) performed an unplanned four-day overhaul of its Collombey refinery, located in the city of Collombey in Switzerland's Valais region. The 51,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) refinery was created in 1963 and used by Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) (The Hague, Netherlands) from 1965 to 1990, when Tamoil SA took over the refinery. At present, the complex produces lead-free naphtha, heavy oil, carburant diesel and liquefied petroleum gas.

On June 9, 2009, after an environmental inspection, the refinery started the oil-out process for an unplanned turnaround that lasted four days. The shutdown affected all of the processing units. The 50,000-BBL/d Topping Unit, the Gas Oil Hydrodesulfurization unit, the Naphtha Hydrodesulfurization unit, the Isomerization unit, Polymerization unit, the Reformer, the Residue Catalytic Cracker and its auxiliary services. The start-up process began on June12, and during the weekend the refinery was in condition to reach normal rates.

During the second half of 2010, the reformer will shut down for a two-year catalyst-change routine. This will involve the Naphtha Hydrodesulfurization unit as well.

General maintenance overhauls at the refinery are performed every four years. The last one took place in July 2007 and involved all of the units previously mentioned. Consequently, the next one is scheduled for 2011, but it hasn't been decided yet whether it will take place in the fall or spring.

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