Stanlow is a large, medium-complexity, cracking refinery in the northwest of the UK.
The refinery is owned and operated by Essar.
The refinery runs light sweet crude, delivered by pipe from the Tranmere crude terminal about 15 miles away. Crude comes from the North Sea, North America (Eagleford and WTI), North Africa and West Africa. The refinery also has run small amounts of medium and heavy crude.
The refinery primarily produces transportation fuels. Products are distributed to the local market from the Stanlow products terminal located on site, and moved by the UKOP pipeline to interior markets in the Midlands and London. Exports are limited by draft restrictions at the Stanlow water terminal.
Gasoline - 3 B litres/y - regular and super grades. Unable to export due to draft limitations.
Diesel - 4.4 B litres/y
Jet fuel - 2 B litres/y - moved by pipeline directly to the Manchester airport
Propylene - moved by pipeline to the Lyondell Bassell polypropylene plant in Carrington
Fuel oil - mostly FCC slurry
Aromatics - ethylbenzene, toluene
Complexity: 7.2
Stanlow is a light/sweet crude, cracking refinery. Vacuum capacity relative to atmospheric distillation limits the crude diet to lighter grades. The RCC unit allows the refinery to run the entire atmospheric bottoms to conversion, but does not result in 100% conversion. The reformers are the only source of hydrogen (no on purpose supply) and run to higer severity to produce aromatics and sufficiency hydrogen to supply the hydrotreaters.
Atmospheric distillation - 205 kbpd
Vacuum distillation - 46 kbpd
RCC - 69 kbpd
Alkylation - 11 kbpd - UOP HF unit
Reformer - Two units: Semiregen unit (27 kbpd) Continuous (CCR) unit (30 kbpd)
Naphtha hydrotreater - 60 kbpd
FCC gasoline hydrotreater - 36 kbpd
Distillate hydrotreater - 57 kbpd
Sulfur recovery unit
Hydrogen supply is entirely from reformers hydrogen production
Land: 770 hectares
Employees: 800 staff, 900 contractors
1924 - Refinery commissioned by Shell
2004 - FCC naphtha hydrotreater added
2011 - Refinery sold to Essar
2015 - CDU 3 decommissioned, leaving one crude train
2017 - Capacity of crude unit increased
2027 - Planned addition of CO2 capture project, providing 810 kt/y capacity for $439 million, capturing CO2 from the RCC