Sannazzaro Refinery

The refinery has balanced refining capacity of 180 kbbl/d and a conversion index of 61.2%. Management believes that this unit is among the most efficient refineries in Europe. Located in the Po Valley, it mainly supplies markets in North-Western Italy and Switzerland. The high degree of flexibility and conversion capacity of this refinery allows it to process a wide range of feedstock. From a logistical standpoint this refinery is located along the route of the Central Europe pipeline, which links the Genoa terminal with French speaking Switzerland. This refinery contains two primary distillation plants and relevant facilities, including three desulfurization units. Conversion is obtained through a fluid catalytic cracker (FCC), two hydrocrackers (HdCK), which increase middle distillate yields and a visbreaking thermal conversion unit with a gasification facility using the heavy residue from visbreaking (tar) to produce syn-gas to feed the nearby EniPower power plant at Ferrera Erbognone. Eni is developing a conversion plant employing the Eni Slurry Technology with a 23 kbbl/d capacity for processing heavy crude with high sulfur content producing high quality middle distillates, in particular gasoil, and reducing the yield of fuel oil to zero. The stat-up is expected in 2012.
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Operational Cycle

The Refinery, located in the Turin-Milan-Genoa industrial triangle, satisfies the demands for energy in the most highly industrialized area in Italy.
This position also prompted the development of a closely knit supply and distribution network through oil pipelines, minimizing environmental impact and costs linked with on the road haulage and handling oil products, furthermore guaranteeing punctual and at the same time faster delivery. More...

Procurement System

The refinery is located along the course of the oil pipeline connecting up the terminal in Genoa with the Swiss French canton.
The quantity of crude oil received from Genoa, coming by ship mainly from Russia, Africa, North Europe and the Middle East, amounts to about 90%.
The remaining quantity also comes by oil pipeline from the Villafortuna oilfields near Trecate (Novara).

Working Cycle

Crude oil is transformed into finished products in successive steps requiring various types of installations.
Primary distillation is the first operation done on crude oil in a special fractionating column at atmospheric pressure (Topping), where the various components are separated into fractions one differing from the other in volatility and boiling point.

The lighter fractions, extracted in the upper part of the column, are made up of Lpg and petrol.
The latter, in turn fractionated into light and heavy petrol, are first of all desulphurized and then sent to the isomerizing and reforming plants respectively to increase the number of octane. The other fractions from distillation consist of kerosene and diesel oil which, after being treated with a desulphurization process to conform to required specifications, are sent on for storage and for sale. More...

Products

With the numerous unfinished products available, linked with the complex working cycle, together with the possibility of blending them, the Refinery produces a wide range of about 45 different products that can be grouped up into the principal categories shown in the table. More...