KUALA LUMPUR: Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd, formerly known as Shell Refining Company (Federation of Malaya) Bhd, is commencing construction work of a new complex at its Port Dickson refinery for the production of Euro4M grade motor gasoline.

The company said in a statement that it held a ground-breaking ceremony today to mark the start of the project, which is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2018.

The US$135 million (approximately RM580 million) refinery upgrade will involve the installation of an integrated complex designed to desulphurise the full range of Cat Cracked Gasoline (CCG) produced by the Long Residue Catalytic Cracking Unit (LRCCU).

This, Hengyuan said, will facilitate the production of gasoline that meets the Euro4M specification, which requires sulfur content to be less than 50 parts per million in volume.

The integrated complex will use a combination of conventional hydro-processing and selective liquid-liquid solvent extraction (LLE) technology, which has been applied successfully by licensors in various operating plants in Shandong, China.

“The successful commencement of this project puts Hengyuan Refining Company en route to produce Euro4M. The Malaysian Government’s timeline to implement the Euro4M gasoline specifications for the RON 95 grade throughout the country is by Oct 1, 2018,” said Hengyuan’s chairman Wang Youde.

“This upgrading will also include state-of-the-art technologies that have been tried-and-tested in refineries in Shandong, China. Upon completion, this upgrade will allow our Port Dickson refinery to produce up to 1.15 million tonnes of gasoline per annum,” Wang added.

Additionally, the construction of the new complex will provide significant economic benefits as it creates up to 1,500 jobs at peak construction periods, thus providing employment opportunities for skilled and competent local workers.