Unipetrol AS, a subsidiary of PKN Orlen, is performing regular maintenance at its Chempark Záluží petrochemical complex in Litvínov, Czech Republic, which includes a 5.4 million-tons/year refinery. The turnaround, which is carried every four years, began with controlled shutdowns on April 9, with maintenance activities starting on April 15 and expected to be completed on May 31.
Unipetrol said that additional measures were in place during the turnaround to ensure workers' safety and health. The company also scaled back the number of maintenance works to 2,300 essential activities from 5,800 that were initially planned. The number of staff involved in the turnaround were also reduced from 2,800 to 1,260.
Key projects during the turnaround include repairing the atmospheric distillation unit’s furnace, fixing large compressors in the complex’s cracker, and replacing underground pipes for cooling water in the partial oxidation unit. Unipetrol expects to gradually restart operations at the production units through June 14.
