Ashdod Refinery Ltd. () situated in the coastal city of

Ashdod Ashdod (, ; , , or ; Philistine language, Philistine: , romanized: *''ʾašdūd'') is the List of Israeli cities, sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District (Israel), Southern District, it lies on the Mediterranean ...

is the second largest oil refinery in Israel (behind Haifa's oil refinery). It is located in the industrial zone in the northern part of the city, nearby the

Port of Ashdod The Port of Ashdod () is one of Israel's three main cargo ports. The port is located in Ashdod, about 40 kilometers south of Tel Aviv, adjoining the mouth of the Lachish River. Its establishment significantly enhanced the country's port capacity ...

. As of 2014, it has an annual refining capacity of 5.4 million tons of oil, with a

Nelson complexity index The Nelson complexity index (NCI) is a measure to compare the secondary conversion capacity of a petroleum refinery with the primary distillation capacity. The index provides an easy metric for quantifying and ranking the complexity of various ...

of 9.8.

History

The refinery was once part of the formerly governmental company Oil Refineries Ltd. which owned both the Ashdod and Haifa refineries. As part of the effort to privatize the refining sector in country the Ashdod refinery was sold to the

Paz Oil Company Paz Oil Company Ltd. () () is the largest Israeli fuels company. Paz distributes gasoline and other petroleum products through a network of gas stations, as well as LPG and natural gas for home use (cooking and heating) through its subsidiar ...

in 2006. The refinery commenced operations in 1973, after three years of construction, in order to meet the needs of the Israeli market which exceeded the production capacity of the Haifa Refinery. The decision to construct a new refinery on the sand dunes north of Ashdod was based on the following considerations: available land, geographical dispersion of refining industries due to security risks, centrally located in the heart of the country’s area of consumption, occupational opportunities for Ashdod, proximity to the Pi Glilot fuel depot and the Eshkol Power Station. Today, a pipeline connects the refinery to the national fuel pipeline, the crude oil Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline and two

Israel Electric Company Israel Electric Corporation (IEC; ) is the largest supplier of electrical power in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The IEC builds, maintains, and operates power generation stations, sub-stations, as well as transmission and distribution ...

sea lines in Ashdod. The Ashdod Refinery is also connected to the national natural gas distribution grid. The use of natural gas significantly reduces the emission of contaminants to the environment, and is economical in energy costs. Natural gas electric and steam plants were constructed on the site of the refinery, and began operation in 2008.

Milestones

*1992 - Construction of catalytic crack and sulfur recovery unit completed *2003 - HDS (hydro-desulfurization) unit and truck loading terminal for distillates were constructed; catalytic cracker upgraded. *2002-2005 - Over USD 13 million invested in environmental protection: reduction of emissions of contaminants; treatment of sewage and prevention of

marine pollution Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial waste, industrial, agricultural pollution, agricultural, and municipal solid waste, residential waste; particle (ecology), particles; noise; excess carbon dioxi ...

; treatment of groundwater, soil and hazardous materials. Preparations are made to connect to the natural gas pipeline and use natural gas to reduce production costs. *2006 – Paz Oil Company Ltd. was awarded the tender to purchase the Refinery from the State, and paid approximately NIS 3.25 billions for full ownership of Israel’s second largest oil refinery. *2023 - On 30.8.2023 Ashdod Refinery become a publics company, trade at Tel Aviv stock exchange.

Figures

* Storage Capacity - 700,000 m3. * Refinery site - 1100 dunams * Number of employees - 230

References

{{Authority control Oil and gas companies of Israel

Refineries A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries a ...