Axioma Servisas company has been tasked with the design, production and installation of a giant furnace in the reactor at the future shale oil production plant Enefit 280-2. It is estimated that this product with the length of more than 17 meters and over 6 meters in diameter will become one of the largest retort furnaces operating in the oil shale industry worldwide.
The Lithuanian company signed a 9 million euro contract with Enefit Power, which is building a plant in Estonia, near the city of Narva.
“This is a record-breaking contract in our history. Together with the project partners, we hold many years of experience in the production and maintenance of similar reactors, but this giant, requested by the customer, is a first for us,” said Artūras Lopeta, CEO of Axioma Servisas.
The company will assemble the cylindrical furnace from three main parts, which will be welded only after the delivery of this giant product to the object. The Lithuanian team will not only install a giant furnace and coordinate the operation of the equipment, but will also monitor proper operation of the equipment for two years following the plant start-up.
According to Darius Imbrasas, Head of the Service Division of Estonia Eastern Region at Axioma Servisas, the technical requirements for the retort furnace are very strict and pose a number of challenges.
“Interestingly, the equipment has to rotate continuously in order that the heated raw material entering it at one end mixes and slides along the entire length of the equipment towards the outlet. A similar technology is used in cement production. This is a particularly complex, but no less interesting project,” said Imbrasas.
According to him, the company will need to combine equipment from several manufacturers, for the production and supply of which Axioma Servisas is planning to engage subcontractors. Among the main ones is Axis Tech, another company from ICOR Group, which will manufacture the retort metal structures.
The retort design work is currently underway. The construction works on the new plant will begin in the middle of this year and will be completed by the end of 2023. It is estimated that almost 1,000 different professionals will contribute to the construction of the plant.
The new facility will be erected next to the already operating shale oil plant Enefit 280, which annually produces 290 thousand tonnes of oil.
Axioma Servisas is not a newcomer to the oil shale industry developed in Estonia. “The Estonian oil shale industry knows us well – we have worked with all their major companies,” added Imbrasas.
Currently, the Lithuanian company is providing maintenance services for various technological equipment at Enefit Power plant, and will repair the old reactor in the summer. Axioma Servisas has also implemented the reactor installation works at the oil shale processing plant of another representative of this industry – VKG Oil.
The Estonian state energy group Eesti Energia, which unites more than 20 companies, operates on the international stage under the name of Enefit. The group is the largest energy producer in the Baltic States.
