Bapco Modernisation Project (BMP) is poised to become one of the largest energy projects ever undertaken in the history of the Kingdom of Bahrain. This multi-billion-dollar venture is the largest capital investment in the Company’s 90-year history. The BMP vision is driven by the desire to further align with the everchanging energy landscape.
The BMP’s objectives are to increase refining capacity, enhance the product slate, improve energy efficiency, and emerge as one of the most competitive and environmentally-compliant refineries in the region. The BMP is essential for Bapco Energies’ long-term sustainability and provides a sound foundation for realising the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Vision 2030.
Success for the BMP is defined by an incident and injury-free project, while meeting standard project metrics for cost and schedule management. Additionally, success will be measured upon the smooth startup and reliability of the integrated BMP facilities until the first major Turnaround and Inspection (T&I) event.
One of the key units to be built as part of the BMP is a Resid Hydrocracking Unit (1RHCU) which is powered by technology licensed from Chevron Lummus Global (CLG). The BMP team is building a two train RHCU with a capacity of 65,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Less than a dozen of these units exist globally, and Bapco Refining’s 1RHCU will be among the largest in the world. The plot size for 1RHCU is expected to be approximately 260m x 260m — equivalent to the area of around 10 football pitches.
The RHCU will convert 78 per cent of the vacuum resid feed into intermediate products (distillates) which will then be further processed into high margin Kerosene and Diesel.
The Refinery will include a new Crude Distillation Unit (7CDU) and Vacuum Distillation Unit (7VDU) as part of BMP’s comprehensive upgrade of Bapco Refining’s facilities. This new state-of-the-art 225,000 bpd integrated crude and vacuum unit will replace 1,2,3 CDU and 1,3 & 5 VDU, which have served Bapco Refining for over 80 years. The units will provide the required feedstock for further downstream processing.
The units are designed to maximise output with a minimum amount of energy while optimising yield performance, thus fulfilling a key BMP objective. The units increase crude output by +42pc of the existing refining capacity. The crude column will be 160’ tall with a diameter of 34’ 9” diameter. The vacuum column will be 142’ tall with a diameter of 37’ 1” at its widest point. The new AB4 pipeline from Saudi Arabia will supply higher levels of crude oil to meet the required increased output, which will be processed more efficiently by the new units.
Key features of 7CDU include two stage desalters and a two-drum overhead system which removes corrosive elements from the raw crude, enhances the reliability of the unit and allows processing of a heavier feedstock as needed. The 7CDU heater, the biggest heat duty heater in the Refinery, will be energy efficient with a duty of 445 MM Btu/hour and 36 low NOx burners.
An additional key feature of 7VDU is the deep vacuum mode that helps the unit in maximising product yields. The units help transform crude oil into valuable petroleum products like Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), Naphtha, Kerosene and Diesel, and also prepare the remaining heavy oil fraction for further processing in the secondary conversion units (2-Hydrocracking Unit and 1-Resid Hydrocracking Unit).
No. 2 VGO Hydrocracking Unit (2HCU), which will be one of the most important conversion units in the Refinery besides 1HCU and 1RHCU, will be built as part of the BMP. Its configuration will be similar to the existing Hydrocracking Unit (1HCU), with more complexity primarily due to a more intensive waste heat recovery scheme, aiming at maximizing the unit energy efficiency. Both hydrocrackers utilize technology licensed from Chevron Lummus Global (CLG).
The unit is a single train with two stages of reaction, with a capacity of 58,000 barrels of Vacuum Gasoil per day. The unit will receive raw feed from new/existing crude distillation units and 1RHCU. 2HCU will convert 99pc of the low value feed into higher margin final products, mainly middle distillates (Kerosene, Naphtha and Diesel). The remaining 1pc of unconverted oil will be blended into fuel oil. 2HCU will work together with 1RHCU in producing high quality products, starting from the “bottom of the barrel”. This unit and 1RHCU will be the main contributors to the refinery profitability increase. The unit also contains three make-up Hydrogen compressors which will supply Hydrogen to several other process units in the Refinery. The unit will occupy a plot space almost twice the area of 1HCU (about 34,000 m2 – equivalent to about 5 football pitches).
The unit has the heaviest equipment (Reactors) and tallest column (Fractionator) in the Refinery. The transportation and erection of this equipment posed immense challenges and demanded extraordinary logistics efforts.
The #3 Sulphur Plant is a sulphur recovery, amine and sour water treating facility being built as part of the BMP and will comprise 11 integrated process units.
The plant’s main purpose is to recover H2S from the BMP Units’ process streams and convert it into liquid Sulphur. The liquid Sulphur is then converted into solid pastilles in a separate unit, with the final product exported to other countries. Worley Parsons is the technology licensor for the Sulphur recovery and tail gas treating plants.
This plant includes several units (11 units) - three Sulphur Recovery Units (SRUs), two Tail Gas Treating Units (TGTUs), two Bulk Acid Gas Removal Units (BAGRUs), two Amine Regeneration Units (ARUs) and two Sour Water Stripping Units (SWSs). The new SRUs will add 600 MT/Day capacity, leading to post-BMP refinery total sulphur production installed capacity of 1,100 MT/Day.
The new plant is strategically located adjacent to the existing Low Sulphur Diesel Production Complex (LSDP), SRUs (towards its south-side) and, with a length of 500m, is one of the longest blocks at the BMP site.
Technology and unit configuration is similar to the existing SRUs but includes a two-stage Claus Process followed by tail gas treatment, giving 99.9pc recovery of H2S.
The BMP is the most far-reaching and ambitious expansion project ever undertaken by Bapco Refining and will both transform the Company and bring a wealth of benefits to the Bahraini economy. Once completed, this multi-billion-dollar investment, involving 20,000+ contractors at peak construction, will see a 42pc increase in refinery crude capacity. Environmental considerations have been paramount throughout and key objectives met in this regards are listed below:
Refinery Configuration and Gross Margin – A revised configuration will allow for higher throughput, improve the product slate by converting more bottom of the barrel into high value products, and increase gross margins with the objective of remaining competitive under a wide range of price and market scenarios.
Energy Efficiency – The BMP will improve energy efficiency and lower the Energy Intensity Index (EII) of the Refinery by installing new energy efficient crude and process units.
Environmental Compliance – All new units will function in compliance with applicable local environmental regulations as well as Lender Standards.
To ensure that the BMP is conducted in an environmentally sound manner, Bapco Refining has commissioned more than 50 Environmental & Social studies and management plans.
The BMP has been designed in a manner that ensures its compliance with all local environmental regulations and alignment with applicable international guidance and Financial Lender’s standards.
50pc reduction in SO2 emissions
5pc reduction in NOx emissions
9pc reduction in treated wastewater discharge
The existing Refinery is spread out over approximately 2 million square metres and includes processing facilities along with a storage tank farm. In addition to the tank farm at the Refinery, a product tank farm is located at Sitra covering an area of over 1 million square meters. The two tank farms are interconnected through an elaborate network of transfer lines. Refined products are shipped through the Wharf, also located at Sitra, that comprises a total of 6 berths. This facility is also utilised for shipping products from Bapco Gas & GPIC.
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