Enefit launches €380M shale oil plant in Auvere as global demand grows
A new oil shale refinery has opened in Auvere, billed as Estonia's most efficient and climate-friendly, with producers saying global demand is growing despite impending EU carbon rules.
Enefit Industry CEO Lauri Karbi said the Enefit 280-2 oil plant is more environmentally friendly than the company's previous installations. It joins the existing Enefit 280 retort.
"The Enefit 280-2 oil plant is capable of producing 268,000 tonnes of oil a year, making it the most capable plant in our oil production complex. It also has another advantage: it performs best in terms of environmental emissions. This is the most modern plant, with a huge number of detectors, technologies and sensors," he said.
So far the plant has produced more than 15,000 tonnes of oil, and, according to Karbi, another advantage is it can extract slightly more oil per tonne of oil shale than older plants.
As for uses, Karbi said the oil extracted at the new plant will be used for marine fuels, and has an alternative use for power stations when other fuels are experiencing high prices.
"Our oil is used as a component of marine fuels; it is added to low-sulphur marine fuel. The market is worth around US$100 billion and demand remains very strong. During crisis times, it has also been used as a substitute fuel in boiler plants when natural gas supplies are disrupted or prices are very high," Karbi went on.
Enefit is a subsidiary of the state-owned Eesti Energia. Both it and private sector shale oil producer VKG say they have seen no decline in global market interest in shale oil. However, one potential threat is the European Commission's plan to change tax rules relating to CO2 emissions.
This could put oil producers operating in the European market at a disadvantage compared with companies in other regions not subject to as stringent regulations, said Anne Mere, chair of Eesti Energia's supervisory board.
"We are certainly taking into account that we are moving towards an industry with a lower carbon impact. The longer-term future is carbon neutrality, but we need to move forward in considered steps and also understand what is happening in the world around us," Mere said, adding that demand for liquid fuels has actually risen slightly recently.
The Enefit 280-2 plant has provided jobs to around 150 people and cost more than €380 million to build.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Märten Hallismaa
