POLOTSK PETROLEUM REFINERY POLOTSK, USSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00909A000500010012-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 21
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 18, 2008
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: February 1, 1969
• Content Type: REPORT

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l op secret
Industrial Facilities
(Non-Military)
DIRECTORATE OF
INTELLIGENCE
Basic Imagery Interpretation Report
Polotsk Petroleum Refinery
Polotsk, USSR
Top Secret
13/0097/69
DATE _FEBRUARY 1969
COPY 9 6
PAGES 16
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY RCS-13 0097 69
Directorate of Intelligence
Imagery Analysis Service
Polotsk Petroleum Refinery
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COMIREX NO. WAG-PiC N25X1
35UNB983536 155-30-43N 028-32-53E None 10168-57H
MAP REFERENCE 8th RTS. USATC 200, Sheet 0168-5HL, 4th edition, January 1968
Scale 1:200,000 (Secret
The Polotsk Petroleum Refinery is one of the newer refineries built in
the Soviet Union using the standardized design for processing units. Based
on the standard design capacity for a primary distillation unit, the annual
charge capacity of this refinery is estimated to be at least 12 million metric
tons. The first interpretable photo coverage of the refinery was taken early
in 1962, at which time the first primary distillation and probable cracking
units were nearly completed. The refinery was at least partially in production
by July 1963. New construction has been noted on all imagery covering the
complex up through April 1968. Facilities presently in operation or under
construction indicate that the products of this refinery will include straight-
run and blended gasolines, various grades and blends of fuel oil, lubricants,
waxes, asphaltic materials, and charge stock for petrochemical processes.
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INTRODUCTION
The Polotsk Petroleum Refinery is located in,northern Belorussian S.S.R.
on the south bank of the Zapadnaya Dvina River, approximately 9.0 nautical
miles (nm) northwest of the center of Polotsk city complex. The location for
this refinery was apparently selected to be near the products market, as has
been the trend in locating the newer Soviet refineries. Products from this
refinery will supply consumers in the Belorussian and Baltic areas, and
surpluses will be shipped to the northern European countries. Crude oil
for processing at Polotsk is produced in the Volga-Ural Region in the Tartar
and Baskir oilfields. The crude oil is gathered from the fields at Kuybyshev,
and from there it is moved via the Druzhba (Friendship) Pipeline System to the
refinery (Figure 1).1/
This refinery is the major plant in an industrial complex which also
includes water treatment facilities (no B.E. listing), construction support
facilities and concrete products plant (no B.E. listing), and the Polotsk
Heat and Thermal Power Plant TETS 2 Refinery A
possible synthetics/plastics plant under construction (no B.E. listing) lies
immediately southeast of the refinery. Feedstock for the latter plant will
probably be obtained from the waste gases and secondary products of the
refinery. Rail service into the industrial complex is provided by rail spurs
from the main line between Polotsk and Molodechno. The areal extent of the
refinery, including the areas presently under construction, measures approxi-
mately 8,500 by 5,100 feet and covers about 900 acres.
BASIC DESCRIPTION
Status and Activity
The following is a generalized construction history of the refinery. No
detailed chronological accounting of the construction of the various items of
equipment or facilities is presented in this report; however, specific items
are noted to illustrate significant points of development. Interpretability
and small scale of the best photo coverage of the refinery seriously limited
the readout of facilities and activity. None of the large-scale missions
over the refinery area provided good quality, complete, cloud-free coverage
of the facilities.
February 1962 - One of the multistage primary distillation units and one
of the probable catalytic cracking units appeared to be nearly complete.
Construction in the products storage area was proceeding at a moderate rate
and several of the storage tanks were completed. Also, the heat and thermal
power plant was nearing completion.
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August 1963 - Construction on the first multistage primary distillation
and probable cracking units appeared complete, and enough of the associated
facilities were in place so that at least partial production could be started.
The rail transfer facilities and part of the crude oil and products storage
areas were also completed. Construction of the probable alkylation plant, the
lube oil plant, the second multistage distillation unit, and the second probable
cracking unit had been started and was progressing at a rapid rate. However,
these facilities were only in the early stages of construction. Work in the
storage areas, particularly on the semiburied crude oil storage tanks, was
also being carried on at an accelerated rate. The heat and thermal power
plant appeared to be in operation.
October 1964 - The second primary distillation and probable cracking
units were completed. Three sections of the lube oil plant, including the
probable clay treatment, the possible solvent extraction/dewaxing, and the
blending and canning sections, appeared complete. The tank farms continued
to be expanded. A second phase of construction was started. It included
expansion of the refinery area to the northwest and southeast, and the con-
struction of several secondary processing units, one of which has been
tentatively identified as a possible thermal reform unit. This second phase
of construction was in the very early stages. Work had also just begun on
the possible synthetics/plastics plant adjacent to the refinery.
August 1965 - Work throughout the refinery continued at a relatively
high rate. All sections of the lube oil plant and the probable alkylation
plant appeared complete. A third possible primary distillation unit of
somewhat different design than the other two was in the early stages of
construction. The products storage tanks and facilities were 60-70 percent
complete and the crude oil storage tankage was about 80 percent in place.
May 1966 - The possible thermal reform unit and most of the secondary
processing unit within the original refinery area appeared to be completed.
Tankage in the crude oil storage area was approximately 90 percent complete.
Products storage facilities continued to be expanded northward. The waste
gas flare tower had been moved farther to the northwest, and ground scarring
between this tower and the refinery proper indicated a possible third phase
of construction and expansion of the refinery complex to its present extent.
September 1967 - The construction status of the refinery at this time
was essentially the same as shown on Figure 3. Several new processing areas
in the refinery expansion to the northwest had been delineated by ditching.
The amount and patterns of the ground scarring indicated a rapid rate of
construction and a wide variety of facilities being built. Most of the new
areas will probably contain facilities for secondary and petrochemical processes.
However, the construction was in such early stages that functional analysis of
these new areas was impossible.
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April 1968 - No significant changes were noted; however, the coverage
was incomplete and of very poor quality. Construction activity appeared to
be continuing at a high rate.
Operational Functions
Based on the facilities in place or under construction, it appears that
the products of this reginery will include fuel oils, diesel oil, all grades of
gasolines, blended fuels, a wide range of lubricants, waxes, asphaltic materials,
and charge stock for petrochemical processes. Based on a comparison of this
refinery with those at Kirishi and Kremenchug and information from open-source
literature, the annual charge capacity of the Polotsk refinery is estimated to
be at least 12 million metric tons. If the possible primary distillation unit
presently under construction is in fact a new design of distillation unit, the
input capacity of this refinery would probably be significantly increased. How-
ever, not enough information is available at present to estimate the unit's
capacity or to firmly identify its function.
The first indications that the refinery was in production were observed on
photography of July 1963. At that time, a primary distillation unit and a
probable cracking unit appeared to be operational. This would restrict the
products for the most part to low grade gasolines and fuel oil. By October 1964,
part of the lube oil plant was completed which would probably add certain types
of lubricants and waxes to the list of products. On photography of August 1965,
the second primary distillation unit, the second probable cracking unit, all
sections of the lube oil plant, and the probable alkylation plant appeared to be
complete and probably in operation. Completion of these facilities probably
doubled the capacity of the refinery and widened the range of products to include
a full line of lubricants and alkylate to be used in the blending of high-grade
motor fuels. Some of the secondary processing units which have been completed
since August 1965 probably produce petrochemicals and feedstock for petrochemical
plants. The possible synthetics/plastics plant being constructed adjacent to the
refinery will undoubtedly obtain raw materials from the refinery in the form of
refinery waste materials or intermediate products.
On all missions subsequent to July 1963, there have been indications that
the refinery was in production.
Physical Features
The following table lists the functional areas and facilities within the
refinery complex. Precise identification of the refinery equipment in most
cases was not possible because of the small scale and poor quality of the
imagery covering the complex. The tentative identifications of equipment are
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based on the overall aspect of the refinery, the relative positions and sizes
of units, comparison of equipment with similar facilities found at other.
refineries, and published listings of standardized units found in the newer-
type Russian refineries.3/
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Equipment and Facilities at the
Polotsk Petroleum Refinery
(Items are keyed to Figure 3)
Area Functional Designation Equipment and Facilities*
Shipping and Storage 1 office building
13 storage buildings
U/I Processing U/C
Products Treatment,
Shipping and Storage
1 bank of U/I equipment
3 processing buildings
12 support buildings
2 buildings u/c
12 cylindrical tanks, diameter
40 feet (12m)
19 cylindrical tanks, diameter
30 feet (9m)
3 cylindrical tanks, diameter
20 feet (6m)
4 cylindrical tanks, diameter
10 feet (3m)
4 cylindrical tanks u/c, diameter
40 feet (12m)
3 cylindrical tanks u/c, diameter
20 feet (6m)
2 processing buildings
34 support/storage and shipping
buildings
1 cylindrical tank, diameter
80 feet (24m)
9 cylindrical tanks, diameter
60 feet (18m)
16 cylindrical tanks, diameter
50 feet (15m)
35 cylindrical tanks, diameter
40 feet (12m)
30 cylindrical tanks, diameter
30 feet (9m)
12 cylindrical tanks, diameter
25 feet (7.5m)
62 cylindrical tanks, diameter
20 feet (6m)
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U/I Processing Section:
2 processing buildings/banks of
equipment
6 small items of u/i equipment
2 probable groups of columns/
absorbers, covered
2 small furnaces
5 support buildings
U/I
Processing
Section:
1
processing
building
2
small clusters of columns
4
support buildings
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Functional Designation
Crude Oil Storage
Support
Equipment and Facilities*
2
5
4
cylindrical tanks,
diameter
15 feet (4.5m)
cylindrical tanks
u/c,
diameter
60 feet (18m)
horizontal treating and
storage
tanks, length 70 feet (21m)
23 horizontal treating and storage
tanks, length 50 feet (15m)
65 horizontal treating and storage
tanks, length 40 feet (12m)
3 support buildings
24 cylindrical tanks, diameter
100 feet (30m)
12 administration and support
buildings
1 water tower
2 engineering/shop-type buildings
8 storage/support buildings
Lube Oil Plant (with
i
ti
)
Blending and Canning Section:
5 process
ng sec
ons
3
processing buildings
3
support buildings
10
tall, small-diameter tanks/
columns
2
small cylindrical tanks (not
measured)
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Area Functional Designation Equipment and Facilities*
Possible Solvent Extraction/
Dewaxing Section:
1 processing building with
associated heat exchangers
and accumulators
2 groups of covered columns
5 support buildings
12 cylindrical tanks, diameter
15 feet (4.5m)
Probable Clay Treatment Section:
1 processing building with high
section
1 item of u/i equipment
3 support buildings
6 cylindrical tanks, diameter
25 feet (7.5m)
9 cylindrical tanks, diameter
15 feet (4.5m)
3 cooling towers each with 3
units
3 cooling coil racks/spray ponds
3 support buildings
H Transfer Facilities Undetermined number of rail
tracks with probable loading racks
1 support building
I Primary Distillation 2 multistage distillation units,.
each containing:
4 fractionating columns/groups of
columns (vacuum, atmospheric and
topping stills and possibly light-
ends extractors), heights 110-
135 feet
1 bank of heat exchangers/cooling
coils
2 processing buildings/banks of
equipment
2 pipe furnaces
4 support buildings
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Area Functional Designation Equipment and Facilities*
2 cylindrical tanks, diameter
60 feet (18m)
4 cylindrical tanks, diameter
20 feet (6m)
1 possible spherical tank, diameter
15 feet (4-5)
8 horizontal tanks/desalinization
or chemical treatment drum,
length 30 feet (9m)
1 item of u/i equipment
.2 support buildings
2 natural-draft cooling towers
2 cooling coil racks
2 cylindrical tanks, diameter
45 feet (13.5m)
J Possible Thermal'Reform 1 bank of columns/reactors
(number and dimensions not
determined)
1 bank of probable heat exchangers
2 large furnaces
2 probable small furnaces
4 support buildings
4 cylindrical tanks, diameter
30 feet (9m)
9 cylindrical tanks, diameter
20 feet (6m)
K Probable Catalytic Cracking 1 row of columns/processing units (3)
(2 separate units) (possible reactor, regenerator
and/or fractionators), heights
135-160 feet.
1 bank of egquipment/processing
building
1 processing/control building
2 large furnaces
3 support buildings
1 small cylindrical tank (not
measured)
1 large item of equipment/cluster
of columns (possible reactor-
regenerator), height 180 feet
1 bank of u/i equipment
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Area
Functional Designation Equipment and Facilities*
1 bank of u/i equipment
1 large furnace
1 possible large furnace
5 support buildings
4 cylindrical tanks, diameter
20 feet (6m)
Possible Chemical Treatment 1 item of possible processing
equipment
1 processing building
6 support/storage buildings
1 small cylindrical tank (not
measured)
4 horizontal storage/treatment
drums, length 20 feet (6m)
1 water tower
U/I Secondary Processing 3 items/clusters of u/i processing
equipment
3 small furnaces
9 control and support buildings
3 cooling towers with 6 units
each
1 cooling tower with 3
units
3 spray ponds/cooling coil racks
4 cylindrical tanks, diameter
45 feet (13.5m)
Probable Alkylation Plant 1 bank of equipment (probable
scrubbers and absorbers)
1 cluster of equipment (probable
reactors and washing drums)
2 processing/support buildings
2 spherical tanks, diameter
25 feet (7.5m)
2 horizontal tanks, length 70
feet (21m)
2 cylindrical tanks, diameter
40 feet (l2m)
3 cylindrical tanks, diameter
30 feet (9m)
2 cylindrical tanks, diameter
25 feet (7.5m)
2 small probable acid storage
tanks (not measured)
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Functional Designation Equipment and Facilities*
Possible Light-Ends 2 groups of possible extractors/
Processing fractionating columns
2 items of u/i equipment
1 bank heat exchangers/accumulators
1 processing/control building
5 support buildings
4 cylindrical tanks, diameter
25 feet (7.5m)
Crude Oil and Products 3 control/support buildings
Storage 20 semiburied tanks, diameter
130 feet (39m)
2 cylindrical tanks, diameter
60 feet (18m)
6 cylindrical tanks, diameter
30 feet (9m)
1 possible cylindrical tank,
3
diameter 30 feet (9m)
semiburied tanks u/c, diameter
130 feet (39m)
Possible Primary Distillation/
1
row of moderately
large diameter
Reforming Facilities
distillation/extractor/reactor
columns (at least 5), height
120 feet
1 bank cooling coils/heat exchangers
accumulators
1 processing and control building/
bank of heat exchangers and
accumulators
1 large furnace building with
2 furnaces
4 support buildings
4 cylindrical tanks, diameter
60 feet (18m)
2 cylindrical tanks, diameter
40 feet (12m)
8 horizontal storage/settling/
treatment drums, length 40 feet
(12m)
U/I Secondary Processing 1'cluster/item of u/i processing
equipment
2 processing buildings/banks of
equipment
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E
Area Functional Designation Equipment and Facilities*
2 small furnaces
5 support buildings
6 cylindrical tanks, diameter
40 feet (12m)
2 cylindrical tanks, diameter
20 feet (6m)
S U/I Secondary Processing 1 row probable extractors/
absorbers (3-4 tall, slender
columns)
1 group of columns/large diameter
column, moderate height
2 probable processing buildings/
equipment
6 support buildings
3 cooling towers with 3 units
each
3 spray ponds/cooling racks
2 small cylindrical tanks (not.
measured)
T U/I Processing Facilities 4 items of processing equipment
U/C 14 miscellaneous buildings
3 buildings u/c
12 cylindrical tanks, diameter
40 feet -(12m)...
2 cylindrical tanks, diameter
20 feet (6m)
6 cylindrical tanks u/c (not
measured)
Heavy ground scarring through-
out.area
-- Water Treatment Facilities 10 buildings
(adjacent to refinery) 3 large storage..ponds,
19 storage and 'treatment basins.
4 mounded/buried reservoirs
12 small chemical storage tanks
*NOTE: All measurements are only approximate because of small scale and
poorly defined outlines of'-equipment and storage tanks on the available
photography. Storage tanks were measured in meters and then rounded
off to the nearest five foot dimensions.
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CONCRETE PRODUCTS PLANT AND
ICONSTRUCTION SUPPORT AREA
ll .............................
0
?
51551
?
0
POSSIBLE SYNTHETICS/PLASTICS
PLANT U/C
O
O o~
o?
KEY TO ANNOTATIONS
AREA
FUNCTIONAL DESIGNATION
A
SHIPPING AND STORAGE
B
U/I PROCESSING U/C
C
PRODUCTS TREATMENT,
SHIPPING AND STORAGE
D
CRUDE OIL STORAGE
E
ADMINISTRATION
F
SUPPORT
G
LUKE OIL PLANT (WITH 5
PROCESSING SECTIONS)
H
TRANSFER FACILITIES
I
PRIMARY DISTILLATION
J
POSSIBLE THERMAL REFORM
K
PROBABLE CATALYTIC CRACKING
L
POSSIBLE CHEMICAL TREATMENT
M
U/I SECONDARY PROCESSING
N
PROBABLE ALKYLATION PLANT
O
POSSIBLE LIGHT-ENDS PROCESSING
P
CRUDE OIL AND PRODUCTS
STORAGE
Q
POSSIBLE PRIMARY DISTILLATION/
REFORMING FACILITIES
R
U/
SECONDARY PROCESSING
S
I
U/ SECONDARY PROCESSING
T
U/I PROCESSING FACILITIES U/C
o oep O - 0'.
0
\mM, w n
NEP~ RQ\'P ~PMPL '
00
~~o ?Pe~ Po :p ? : ? 0
LEGEND
REFINERY EQUIPMENT
PROCESSING BUILDING
HEAT EXCHANGERS, COOLING COILS OR ACCUMLATORS
COOLING TOWERS (INDUCED DRAFT)
BUILDING
STRUCTURES UNDER CONSTRUCTION
STORAGE TANKS
SEMIBURIED TANKS
HORIZONTAL TANKS
FILTER AND TREATMENT BASINS
FIGURE 3. POLOTSK PETROLEUM REFINERY
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Maps
8th RTS. US Air Target Chart 200, Sheet M0168-5HL 4th edition
Jan 68 Scale 1:200,000 (SECRET
1. CIA. CRS/IR File B-058963, Summary of World Broadcasts, Part I,
"The USSR Weekly Supplement No. 2" November 1959 (UNCLASSIFIED)
2. CIA. Memorandum, PID/IB-160/64, Polotsk Petroleum 25X1
Refinery, USSR, March 1964 (TOP SECRET RUFF)
3. Ebel, R. E., The Petroleum Industry of the Soviet Union, American
Petroleum Institute, 1961 (UNCLASSIFIED)
4. U.S. Department of Commerce. JPRS: 44,605, Studies of Oil Refining
and Petrochemistry, USSR, "Report on Polotsk Oil Refinery in
Belorussia," pp. 63-64, March 1968 (UNCLASSIFIED)
Requirement
EXSUBCOM - BR-N/001-69
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Top Secret
Top Secret
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