The EST project at the Sannazzaro refinery

The EST technology, funded by Eni with over 1.1 billion Euro, represents the first Italian scientific and technological discover in the oil refining sector and the biggest industrial project currently underway in the country.
The project, which will be completed by the end of 2012 with the start of the 23,000 boe/day-capacity plant, commenced during 90s by Eni at its San Donato Milanese labs. Works continued at the Taranto refinery, where a 1,200 boe/day demo plant started operations in 2005, representing the reference point of the Sannazzaro plant. The design of the new plant, which will be carried out in accordance with the highest technological and environmental standards, began in 2008 and involved Saipem for the engineering activities.

The EST technology will enable Sannazzaro to become a zero fuel oil refinery, a standard of excellence for the technologies which will be used and the quality of fuels produced. The crude processing cycle in Sannazzaro is one of the most advanced in the world to date and is capable of producing a high environment-compatible gasoil thanks to the significant investments made by Eni in last 5 years.

The EST technology, which can valorise the exploitation of unconventional crudes, will also enable Eni to evaluate new, important opportunities in this industry, considering the significant reserves of this source in the world.

Unlike traditional oil processes, the EST technology can produce gasoline and gasoil without generating coke or fuel oil, whose market is constantly declining. Furthermore, it is based upon a hydro-conversion process developed through a special catalyst and a current of hydrogen self-produced starting from methane.

The EST project at the Sannazzaro refinery (Italian version)

Invention of Eni Research
Eni has invented the new oil process EST (Eni Slurry Technology), which is able to completely convert waste oil, heavy crude and tar sands in high quality and performance fuels.
Technically, this hydroconversion process is developed using a special catalyst and self-starting hydrogen from natural gas.
In the history of scientific discoveries in the oil sector this is the first Italian invention, which comes 40 years after the last manufacturing process of oil invented.

Major industrial project
Eni has invested € 1.1 billion in the project.
The design of the Sannazzaro plant began in mid-2008 and the supply of the reactor, the core of the chemical process, began in 2009.
Today the plant is under construction. The process will last two years and will involve up to 2,000 people.
The new plant, whose capacity will be of 23,000 barrels per day, will be ready at the end of 2012.
At least 300 suppliers of materials and equipment and 60 top enterprises will participate in this unique initiative. Of these, more than 300 companies are Italian, selected following a competitive tender involving qualified companies operating on the international market.
The project is led by the Eni team integrated with its contractors which oversees the project, from Saipem's engineering to project management and operations, strengthened by all means necessary to properly address an industrial project which is particularly challenging.

Great attention to security
Eni gives a priority value to the safety of its employees and those of its suppliers and stakeholders.
Before the start of works, Eni solicited all the companies involved in the project to sign the Pact on Security - a formal commitment of all towards the goal of zero accidents.
This Pact, a totally new initiative, represents a symbolic moment towards a making firm, visible and shared commitment to prevention, security and environmental protection in a virtuous circle that has the primary goal of sustainability and excellence in action.
The model of safety and security management for the building site has so far reported about 500,000 hours without an injury and respects the highest quality standards.

Respect for the environment
Institutions and local communities, who participated actively in the process of assessing the environmental compatibility of the project, have appreciated the ability to undertake this project and improve the quality of the environment.
Actions to reduce the overall level of emissions of the entire refinery are underway in order to recover water resources without increasing drawings. Furthermore, clean land arising from excavations in this area has not been transferred to other sites but remained to model environmental green screens that trace the contours of the bend of the River Po a few centuries ago.
The most modern techniques of environmental protection, ranging from the NOx abatement systems to a sewerage system preventing any leakage underground - the double bottom tanks – comply with the highest standards of environmental protection.
Through these initiatives, Eni will also enhance its environmental and energy efficiency in the neighbouring area.

The complexity of the project
This is a highly complex industrial project, not only for technological innovation, but also with regard to the scope of the project, such as:

• the total extent of the area: 50 hectares, including buffer zones and environmental landscape protection;
• the number of employees involved during construction: the project already has 1,000 employees  and at its peak there will be 2,000
• a large bunkered room for the remote control of operations of the new plant
• the extraordinary pre-assembly involved in building both the structures and mechanical equipment, which have reduced the necessity to work at great heights, and provided advantages for the safety and efficiency of the project, as well as optimizing its carryout time.

Ability to refine with zero production of coke and fuel oil
Unlike conventional oil processing technologies, EST is able to produce gasoline and gasoil without producing coke or fuel oil, whose market is increasingly declining.
In the world today more than 90 million tons of coke are produced per year and 9 million barrels of fuel oil per day are generated.

Exploitation of heavy crude and tar sands
EST is significantly more beneficial, to a large extent, than traditional technologies and is able to enhance non-conventional oil resources that are found throughout the world, especially in Canada and Venezuela, and account roughly 3 times the estimated reserves of conventional crude.