Bashneft has signed an agreement with General Electric (GE) for the delivery and installation of main process equipment as part of a project to upgrade biological treatment facilities (BTF) at its Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim subsidiary. The agreement was signed by Bashneft President Alexander Korsik and Ron Pollett, President and CEO of GE Russia/CIS.

Under the contract, GE will supply Bashneft this year with process equipment for main units including a membrane bioreactor, electrodialysis reversal, reverse osmosis and selective ion exchange units. GE will also supervise installation, tests and adjustments. The contract value totals approximately RUB 1.6 billion.

Bashneft selected GE technologies for the BTF upgrade project following pilot tests carried out in 2013, which proved that the quality of wastewater treatment meets the requirements of Russian environmental legislation. The advanced technologies developed by GE will enable Bashneft to reuse treated water at its refineries, minimize water withdrawal, reduce the area of treatment facilities and prevent discharges of pollutants into the environment.

Following the upgrades, the BTF will be able to process up to 84 thousand cubic metres of wastewater per day, which is a level unprecedented for an industrial enterprise in terms of the scale of wastewater treatment and reuse.

The upgraded treatment facilities are to be put into operation in late 2015. The total project cost is estimated at RUB 4.6 billion.

Note: Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim’s biological treatment facilities were commissioned in 1958. All industrial and domestic wastewater and stormwater from the three refineries of Bashneft and several other facilities forming part of the Northern Industrial Hub of Ufa (such as OJSC Ufaorgsintez, the Cherkassy pumping station, the Promoborudovanie plant, etc.) are delivered to the BTF after a preliminary mechanical treatment. The BTF underwent renovation in 1983.