Naftan, flagship of Belarusian oil refining, celebrates its 60th anniversary

On February 9, the flagship of Belarusian oil refining industry Naftan will celebrate its 60th anniversary.

The oil refinery began its construction in Novopolotsk in 1958, and on February 9, 1963, the refinery received the first Belarusian petrol. This date is considered the birthday of Naftan. Initially the refinery was designed to process 6 million tons of crude oil per year, but the facility was gradually increasing its capacity to meet the demand of the times. In 60 years Naftan has processed over 800 million tons of black gold.

Today the enterprise unites a complex of petrochemical productions. "Naftan" produces oil products, which are used in various fields of our national economy and are also exported.

The refinery, which is well-known far beyond the borders of Belarus, continues to develop. In the jubilee year, Naftan completes the implementation of its largest investment program - construction of a delayed coking complex (DCC), which already produces petroleum coke. Due to the implementation of this project the oil refining rate reached 92%. Also, thanks to the commissioning of the delayed coking unit the environmental situation in Novopolotsk has improved, since this unit is, in fact, environmental protection. Its purpose is to utilize hydrogen sulfide, which is a by-product of oil refining, by converting it into elemental sulfur.

In June 1964 the Council of Ministers of the USSR signed a decree on the construction of Polotsk Chemical Complex. In autumn of the same year the construction was launched and a little over three years later it was over. In 1968, on February 4, the first Belarusian polyethylene was produced at the plant.