Croatian oil company INA has completed mechanical work on a €15 million steam-turbine upgrade at its Rijeka refinery, moving the energy-efficiency project towards commissioning.
The new system uses back-pressure steam turbines equipped with generators, allowing the refinery to recover more energy from steam already used in its industrial processes.
Mechanical completion was achieved at the end of August, around five weeks ahead of the contractual schedule. Trial operation and commissioning with process medium were scheduled to begin in September.
Once operational, the turbines should reduce steam consumption, lower internal energy costs and generate additional electricity for use at the refinery. INA also expects a corresponding decline in carbon dioxide emissions.
The project forms part of the wider modernisation of Rijeka and supports compliance with Croatia’s Energy Efficiency Act. INA teams implemented the upgrade with external contractors, including Siemens Energy.
The investment is relatively small compared with the refinery’s broader modernisation programme, but it targets one of the sector’s most persistent cost pressures. Recovering electricity from an existing steam system should improve efficiency without increasing the refinery’s dependence on external energy supplies.
