March 27, 2024
New “flame” at the refinery in Kalundborg
Today, a new, temporary flare was set up at the refinery in Kalundborg. The flare will enable Kalundborg Refinery to keep the base refinery running, while the “eternal flame” is taken out of service for inspection and maintenance.
Wednesday March 27 marks an important day at Kalundborg Refinery. After years of planning and thousands of man-hours spent, a temporary flare was installed. It will enable the refinery to keep the base refinery running while the condensate refinery and the 120-metre-high flare, popularly known as »the eternal flame«, are shut down for inspection and maintenance.
The refinery already has two flares. These are an important part of the safety system and vital for depressurising the plant during disruptions and planned shutdowns of the process plant, also known as turnarounds.
“Planned shutdowns are recurring events at Kalundborg Refinery and take place every four years. Here, all or part of the refinery is taken out of operation for inspection, maintenance, and cleaning. This ensures that we can continue to operate the plant safely, efficiently, and reliably,” says Claus Navntoft, who will take the role as Managing Director at Kalundborg Refinery on April 1.
The 50-metre-high temporary flare is expected to operate from Friday April 5 until the end of the planned shutdown in mid-May 2024.
New turnaround strategy
Following the acquisition by Klesch Group, a new strategy for the planned shutdowns was initiated. There are many reasons for this, says Claus Koch, TurnAround Execution Manager at Kalundborg Refinery:
“Experience from previous turnarounds has shown that the duration of large-scale shutdowns can be exhausting for our employees. Our most important goal is to complete the shutdown without harm to people, environment, and equipment. The new turnaround strategy will help us achieve this. Safety is always our top priority,” he says.
The temporary flare plays a crucial role in Kalundborg Refinery’s new turnaround strategy. Due to the complexity and interconnections of the plant, it has not previously been possible to separate the base refinery and the condensate refinery. The temporary flare is the chosen solution to this challenge.
