EET Fuels Appoints Wood for Hydrogen Fuel Switching Project

New Delhi, Aug 27 (PTI) EET Fuels, which owns and operates UK's Stanlow oil refinery, has appointed global consulting and engineering leader Wood for conducting front-end engineering design (FEED) for its hydrogen project, the firm said on Tuesday.

Essar Energy Transition (EET) is Essar Group entity that is driving USD 3.6 billion worth of low carbon projects in the UK and India. EET Fuels is a key part of EET and is driving plan to become the UK's first low carbon process refinery.

In a statement, EET Fuels said it has progressed to FEED stage of its hydrogen fuel switching project.

Hydrogen will be provided by EET Hydrogen, the company's co-located Track One low carbon hydrogen production company.

"To conduct this phase of the project, EET Fuels has appointed Wood, a global leader in consulting and engineering, to coordinate final designs of the fuel system that will feed into the company's hydrogen-ready crude distiller furnace. Wood will also re-design the core infrastructure and control systems to enable the efficient and safe combustion of hydrogen," it said.

EET Fuels is investing USD 1.2 billion over the next five years to decarbonise its operations and targeting a 95 per cent cut in emissions by 2030 through energy efficiency, carbon capture and fuel switching.

The Stanlow Refinery is one of the UK's largest and most complex refineries, processing approximately 10 million tonnes of crude oil each year. It supplies a significant portion of the UK's road transport fuels, including petrol, diesel, and jet fuel. Additionally, Stanlow plays a crucial role in Britain's petrochemical industry by providing essential feedstocks.

Completion of FEED will enable EET Fuels to take final investment decision (FID) on the hydrogen fuel switching project next year.

The project will enable fuel switching to assets like EET Fuels' hydrogen-ready crude distiller furnace.

"This is the first of its kind installed in any UK refinery and is capable of running on 100 per cent hydrogen or a fuel-gas mix. Once the furnace is running on hydrogen from EET Hydrogen's production plant, it will reduce emissions at the Stanlow Refinery by 0.2 million tonnes per year," it said.

Once hydrogen is available from EET Hydrogen, this will enable the fuel switching of all fired-heaters on site.

The progression of this project demonstrates the company's strong momentum towards achieving its target of reducing CO2 emissions at the Stanlow Refinery by 95 per cent by 2030.

EET Fuels CEO Deepak Maheshwari said, "We have groundbreaking plans for EET Fuels in the UK with the Stanlow Refinery at its heart. Hydrogen Fuel Switching is an integral part of these plans, and conducting the FEED alongside a great partner in Wood will allow us to confidently move forward to final investment decision. We remain on track to become the world's first low carbon process refinery, providing security of fuel supply to the UK, as well as building and maintaining employment in the UK's industrial heartlands."

Martin Simmonite, Senior Vice President for UK Operations at Wood, added, "We are delighted to be working on this decarbonisation project with EET Fuels, providing critical infrastructure that is fundamental to the energy transition and UK energy security.