The Sapugaskanda Refinery (also referred to as Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery) is the single largest
oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt, asphalt ...
of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. The refinery was built by
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
under the guidance of the
Ceylon Petroleum Corporation in August 1969,
initially designed to process per stream day of
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics ...
crude oil, and Arabian
light crude oil. (Medium
sour crude oil) It was commissioned on 12 October 1969. The facility, which covers an area of ,
currently has a capacity of per stream day.
As with most refineries, the Sapugaskanda Refinery has an in-house utilities section which supplies electricity, water, steam, instrument air, and other necessities for operations. In total, 65 storage tanks are located at the premises for storage of crude oil, finished, and other products, five of which has a capacity of .
A further four crude oil tanks located in the separate Orugodawatta tank farm.
History
* The initial survey for the refinery was conducted in 1963.
* On 9 May 1967, the foundation stone was laid for the refinery. Construction was handled by
Snamprogetti, while the facility supervision was handled by
UOP LLC
Honeywell UOP, formerly known as UOP LLC or Universal Oil Products, is an American multi-national company developing and delivering technology to the petroleum refining, gas processing, petrochemical production, and major manufacturing industries.
...
.
* On 12 October 1969, the refinery was commissioned.
* In 1971, the
naphtha
Naphtha ( or ) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture.
Mixtures labelled ''naphtha'' have been produced from natural gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and the distillation of coal tar and peat. In different industries and regions ...
merox
Merox is an acronym for mercaptan oxidation. It is a proprietary catalytic chemical process developed by UOP used in oil refineries and natural gas processing plants to remove mercaptans from LPG, propane, butanes, light naphthas, kerosene and je ...
unit was modified to commence production of
liquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the v ...
(LNG), while
SBPS production was also commenced with existing infrastructure. The crude distiller was also modified to increase capacity from per stream day during this period.
* In 1981, a
kerosene
Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning " wax", and was reg ...
merox was installed to process A-1
jet fuel
Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial a ...
, while the energy-intensive Kerosene unifiner was decommissioned.
* In 1992, the crude distiller unit was again modified to support far Eastern crude oils such as
Miri
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light crude oil, and Naphtha unifiner capacity was increased to 1100 tonne per day.
* In 1999, platformer unit was modified to increase capacity to 650
tonne
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
per day, to meet increasing
gasoline
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic ...
demand, and to phase out
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...
in gasoline.
* In 2003, the kerosene unifiner was modified to process
diesel, and the existing gas oil unifiner was rehabilitated to meet the
sulphur
Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
specification of 0.3
%wt in diesel.
* On 19 February 2018, the entire facility was shutdown for 35 days due to a planned refurbishment project. 1,200 engineers and mechanics handled the 24×7 maintenance covering the processing units, utilities, and tank farm. The production shortage during the period was covered by importing the requirements by the
Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.
Power stations
Three oil-fired power stations are built at the vicinity of the refinery for ease of fuel logistics:
#
Sapugaskanda Power Station
The Sapugaskanda is a power station located in Sapugaskanda, adjacent to the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery, in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. The power station consists of twelve generating units, supplied by MAN, and Siemens. Four of the u ...
(160
MW) - Owned by the
Ceylon Electricity Board
The Ceylon Electricity Board - CEB ( si, ලංකා විදුලිබල මණ්ඩලය - ලංවිම, Lankā Vidulibala Mandalaya - Lanwima; ta, இலங்கை மின்சார சபை - இமிச), is the largest el ...
#
Lakdhanavi Power Station
The Lakdhanavi Power Station (also sometimes referred to as the Lakdhanavi Sapugaskanda Power Station) is a thermal power station built in Sapugaskanda, Sri Lanka. Operated by , it is one of three power stations in the Sapugaskanda region, the ...
(24
MW) - Owned by Lakdhanavi (Private) Limited
#
Asia Power Sapugaskanda Power Station
The Asia Power Sapugaskanda Power Station (also sometimes referred to as Asia Power Station) is a thermal power station in Sapugaskanda, Sri Lanka. Planning for the fuel oil-run power station dated back to 1994, when the Ceylon Electricity Boar ...
(51
MW) - Owned by Asia Power (Private) Limited
See also
*
Energy in Sri Lanka
The electricity sector in Sri Lanka has a national grid which is primarily powered by hydroelectric power and thermal power, with sources such as photovoltaics and wind power in early stages of deployment. Although potential sites are being ide ...
*
Hambantota Refinery
The Hambantota Refinery (also called Greenfield Oil Refinery) is an oil refinery to be developed in Mirijjawila, Hambantota, in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. The refinery will be built and owned by Singapore's (70%) and Oman's Minist ...
References
{{Electricity in Sri Lanka
Oil refineries in Sri Lanka
Buildings and structures in Gampaha District
Buildings and structures completed in 1969
1969 establishments in Ceylon