NOVOPOLOTSK, 7 June (BelTA) – The Belarusian oil refinery OAO Naftan is considering several scenarios of further development of the enterprise. The company's Director General Aleksandr Demidov told Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko about them on 7 June, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Demidov said: “Today we've precisely calculated and are considering three possible variants: fuel production (actually the same we've built already), fuel and petrochemical products, and petrochemical products. We tend to favor the latter. We believe it is the future.”
While talking to reporters later, the executive noted that the enterprise's modernization is nearing completion. It is now necessary to clearly determine the enterprise's further development strategy. “Today we can already see that the fuel variant doesn't offer that many options. The petrochemical variant is more probable. By the end of the year we have to decide how we are going to grow and act later on,” the Naftan director general added.
The company will study what products sell well on the market and will start making them. “Manufacturing products is one thing, but selling the necessary products at a profit is the modern approach. First and foremost we have to understand what will sell well on the markets and have to make these products later on,” Aleksandr Demidov stressed.
During the visit to OAO Naftan the head of state was informed in detail about the social and economic development of the oil refinery and about the implementation of major investment projects. Aleksandr Lukashenko was made familiar with modern methods for managing manufacturing processes. He took a close look at the crude oil distillation plant AT-8, which large-scale reconstruction was finished in 2017. The head of state was told that the plant's oil processing scheme is unique. It has no analogs not only in Belarus but the ex-USSR. The plant is equipped with all the necessary systems. It allows making high-quality products and boasts the highest level of occupational safety. The crude oil distillation plant AT-8 has suffered no malfunctions or accidents since its launch.
A native of Pakistan, Khan Nasir Mukhtar is one of the specialists in charge of operating the plant. Aleksandr Lukashenko had a few words with him, asked him about his family and life in Belarus. “I've come to love [the country], the people are very kind. If it was bad, I would have left long ago. I feel good here,” the Pakistani said. He added that the company had even given him some space to pray just like Islam requires it.
The head of state went on a tour of the oil refinery and examined social facilities. The president was informed about the implementation of the project to build a complex for the delayed coking of oil residues. It will allow increasing the crude oil upgrading index up to 90% while considerably increasing the output of light oil products. It is one of the largest investment projects the Belarusian oil processing industry is implementing now.
