HPCL installs reactor at AP refinery under expansion project

Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) on Thursday said it has installed country's largest reactor at its Visakh refinery in Andhra Pradesh as part of the refinery modernisation project.

As a part of the Visakh Refinery Modernization Project (VRMP), India's largest full conversion hydrocracker unit (FCHCU) with a capacity of 3.053 million tonnes per annum is being set up.

The licensor for this unit is Universal Oil Products (UOP) and the Project Management Consultant is Engineers India Limited (EIL), the company said in a statement.

HPCL is expanding the Visakh refinery capacity from present 8.33 million tonnes per annum to 15 million tonnes a year at a cost of Rs 20,928 crore by July 2020.

"The first and second stage reactors are the heart of this unit. The First Stage Reactor which is heaviest in India, with an erection weight of 1,646 tones (1,858 tones including internals), has a wall thickness of 254.5 mm and stands 55.6 meters tall. The Second Stage Reactor weighs in at 454 tonnes, has a wall thickness of 184.5 mm and stands 28.5 meters tall," it said.

Both the reactors, supplied by Larsen and Toubro Ltd were shipped via barge from vendor's workshop at Hazira in Gujarat on March 22 and received at Vizag on April 24.

"The second stage reactor was successfully erected on June 11, 2019. The first stage reactor with an erection was successfully erected on June 18. This is one of the heaviest reactors erected in a single piece in the Indian oil industry," the statement added.