Iraqi company deploys Honeywell technology to modernise Kurdistan refinery

A company based in Iraq’s Kurdistan region will use Honeywell UOP’s modular naphtha hydrotreating and fixed-bed platforming process units to upgrade its refinery to produce cleaner transportation fuels, the US conglomerate announced on Monday.

The project by Lanaz Company marks the first use of UOP modular technology in Iraq and will help the company comply with increasingly strict specifications for fuel products. Honeywell UOP has supplied licensing and basic engineering design services as well as full modular units to Lanaz, based in Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

The Lanaz Refinery is a fully equipped, high-capacity refinery built in 2008 and processes about 100,000 bpd of crude oil.

“Depending upon capacity and location, UOP’s modular technologies can reduce construction and installation costs more than 20 percent compared with systems constructed on site,” said Laura Leonard, vice president and general manager, UOP Process Technologies. “By upgrading with this technology, Lanaz can start operations between a year and 18 months faster than the traditional field-fabricated model, and quickly produce high-quality gasoline to meet growing demand.”

Honeywell UOP is a leading international supplier and licensor of process technology, catalysts, adsorbents, equipment, and consulting services to the petroleum refining, petrochemical, and gas processing industries.

As refiners in developing economies seek to upgrade their facilities to produce high-quality gasoline, many are seeking modular solutions to maintain costs and mitigate risk with pre-fabrication and assembly completed in a safe and controlled environment off-site. In addition, modular technology provides a faster pathway to operations with facilities coming online less time.