 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Oil shale industry Power generation |
| Predecessor | Riigi Põlevkivitööstus AS Esimene Eesti Põlevkivitööstus Slantsehim RAS Kiviter |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Priit Rohumaa (CEO) [1] |
| Website | www |
Viru Keemia Grupp (VKG) is an Estonian holding group of oil shale industry, power generation, and public utility companies.
After Estonia gained independence, the state owned oil shale enterprise, Riigi Põlevkivitööstus (English: Estonian State Oil Shale Industry), was established as a department of the Ministry for Trade and Industry on 24 November 1918. Shale oil production started in Estonia in 1921 when Riigi Põlevkivitööstus built 14 experimental oil shale processing retorts in Kohtla-Järve. [2] [3] These vertical retorts used the method developed by Julius Pintsch AG that would later evolve into the current Kiviter processing technology. [3] Along with the shale oil extraction plant, an oil shale research laboratory was founded in 1921. [4] Following the experimental retorts, the first commercial shale oil plant was put into operation on 24 December 1924. This is considered as a beginning of the history of Viru Keemia Grupp. [5]
In October 1936, Riigi Põlevkivitööstus was reorganized as the government-owned joint stock company and was renamed Esimene Eesti Põlevkivitööstus. [6] It operated three shale oil extraction plants and was constructing the fourth plant. After occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Union, the company was subordinated to the Soviet authorities in December 1940. [7] During the subsequent German occupation, the industry was merged into a company named Baltische Öl GmbH, subordinated to Kontinentale Öl. [8] [9]
During the following Soviet occupation, the company became the Kohtla-Järve shale oil combinate (Russian : Сланцехим under the General Directorate of Synthetic Liquid Fuel and Gas of the USSR (Glavgaztopprom). [10] In 1948, the company opened an oil shale gas plant, and for several decades the oil shale gas was used as a substitute for natural gas in Saint Petersburg (then known as Leningrad) and in northern Estonian cities. [11] [12] It was the first time in history that synthetic gas from oil shale was used in households. [13]
In 1995, the Kohtla-Järve factory and factory in Kiviõli were merged into the single company named RAS Kiviter. [14] In 1997, Kiviter was privatized and a year later it declared insolvency. Its factory in Kohtla-Järve was acquired by newly established Viru Keemia Grupp. [15]
In 2008, the company received a permit for developing the Boltysh oil shale deposit in Ukraine. [16]
VKG Oil opened three new Galoter-type oil plants called Petroter correspondingly in December 2009, in October 2014, and in November 2015. [17] [18] [19]
In January 2016, the company announced that due to low oil prices, it will close the old oil plants using Kiviter technology and lay off 500 workers. [20]
VKG's two main areas of operations are shale oil extraction, and electricity and heat production and distribution.
The subsidiary producing shale oil is VKG Oil. The company utilizes two different processes: Kiviter and Galoter. [21] [22] [23] [24] The company also tested but rejected the Alberta Taciuk Process. [25] In total, VKG Oil processes 2 million tons of oil shale per year, producing 250,000 tons of shale oil.
The company operates several Kiviter retorts, the largest of them having a processing capacity of 40 tonnes per hour of oil shale feedstock. [15] [26] As of 2016, these retorts were out of operation due to low oil prices. [20] It also operates three Galoter-type retorts called Petroter. [24] Engineering of the retort was done by Atomenergoproject of Saint Petersburg; engineering of the condensation and distillation plant was done by Rintekno of Finland. [27] The first Petroter plant has a processing capacity of 1.1 million tonnes of oil shale per year, and it produces 100,000 tonnes of shale oil, 30 million cubic metres (1.1 billion cubic feet) of oil shale gas, and 150 GWh of steam per year. [24]
VKG's subsidiary VKG Energia, a power and heat generation company, was established in 2004 after VKG bought the Kohtla-Järve Power Plant and the Kohtla-Järve heat distribution system from Kohtla-Järve Soojus. [28] In 2005, it bought another power plant in Kohtla-Järve from Fortum Termest. [29] In 2006, VKG bought a 40.8% stake in Kohtla-Järve Soojus, an operator of the Ahtme Power Plant, and in 2010 it took a full control of the company, now VKG Soojus. [30] [31] All generations capacities were transferred to VKG Energia while VKG Soojus is responsible for heat distribution. [31] [32] All generations capacities were transferred to VKG Energia while VKG Soojus is responsible for heat distribution. [31] VKG Energia has installed electrical capacity of 80 MW and heat capacity of 700 MW. [33]
In July 2006, VKG acquired Narva Elektrivõrk, the second-largest power distribution company in Estonia, [34] and renamed it VKG Elektrivõrgud. [35] [36] [37]
In April 2011, VKG acquired assets of a bankrupt company Silbet Plokk that manufactured cinder blocks for construction from oil shale burning residue. [1] [38] [39] The company was renamed VKG Plokk. [39] The coalition-agreement of Jüri Ratas' second cabinet formed in 2019 between the Centre Party, EKRE and Pro Patria, expresses support to the development of the local oil industry. [40] Therefore, VKG and Eesti Energia decided to initiate a cost-benefit study aimed at establishing an oil pre-refining plant in Ida-Viru County. The plant would require a 650 million euro investment. [41]
Main subsidiaries of VKG are:
Kohtla-Järve is a city and municipality in northeastern Estonia, founded in 1924 and incorporated as a town in 1946. The city is highly industrial, and is both a processor of oil shales and is a large producer of various petrochemical products. During the 1944–1991 Soviet occupation, large numbers of immigrant workers from Russia and other parts of the former USSR were brought in to populate the rapidly growing city. The population in the Kohtla-Järve area which had been, as of 1934 census, over 90% ethnic Estonian, became overwhelmingly non-Estonian in the second half of the 20th century. According to more recent data 21% of the city's population are ethnic Estonians; most of the rest are Russians. Kohtla-Järve is the fifth-largest city in Estonia in terms of population.
Eesti Energia AS is a public limited energy company in Estonia with its headquarters in Tallinn. It is the world's biggest oil shale to energy company. The company was founded in 1939. As of 2014, it operates in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Jordan and Utah, United States. In Estonia, the company operates under the name Eesti Energia, while using the brand name Enefit for international operations. The main raw material for energy production – oil shale – is extracted from mines located in Eastern-Estonia and owned by the company. The group of Eesti Energia has three main operation areas: electricity generation, shale oil production, and sale and distribution of electricity. Its shares are owned by the Government of Estonia.
Enefit Kaevandused was a mining company located in Jõhvi, Estonia. It was a subsidiary of Eesti Energia, an Estonian state-owned energy company. The core activity of Enefit Kaevandused was oil-shale mining. The produced oil shale was mainly used for shale oil production and to fuel oil shale-fired power stations in the north–east of Estonia. As of 2009, the company has 3,150 employees. The last chief executive officer was Andres Vainola. The company produced more than 17 million tons of oil shale in 2013.
The Narva Power Plants are a power generation complex in and near Narva in Estonia, near the border with Leningrad Oblast, Russia. The complex consists of the world's two largest oil shale-fired thermal power plants, Eesti Power Plant and Balti Power Plant. In 2007, Narva Power Plants generated about 95% of total power production in Estonia. The complex is owned and operated by AS Narva Elektrijaamad, a subsidiary of Eesti Energia.
The history of the oil shale industry started in ancient times. The modern industrial use of oil shale for oil extraction dates to the mid-19th century and started growing just before World War I because of the mass production of automobiles and trucks and the supposed shortage of gasoline for transportation needs. Between the World Wars oil shale projects were begun in several countries.
Oil shale gas is a synthetic non-condensable gas mixture (syngas) produced by oil shale thermal processing (pyrolysis). Although often referred to as shale gas, it differs from the natural gas produced from shale, which is also known as shale gas.
There are two kinds of oil shale in Estonia, both of which are sedimentary rocks laid down during the Ordovician geologic period. Graptolitic argillite is the larger oil shale resource, but, because its organic matter content is relatively low, it is not used industrially. The other is kukersite, which has been mined for more than a hundred years. Kukersite deposits in Estonia account for 1% of global oil shale deposits.
Narva Oil Plant is a commercial scale shale oil retorting facility located in Auvere near Narva, Estonia. The plant produces shale oil from oil shale by using Galoter/Eneffit technology. The facility belongs to Enefit Energiatootmine, a subsidiary of Eesti Energia.
The Kiviter process is an above ground retorting technology for shale oil extraction.
The Galoter process is a shale oil extraction technology for a production of shale oil, a type of synthetic crude oil. In this process, the oil shale is decomposed into shale oil, oil shale gas, and spent residue. A decomposition is caused by mixing raw oil shale with a hot oil shale ash, generated by combustion of carbonaceous residue (semi-coke) in the spent residue. The process was developed in 1950s and it is used commercially for the shale oil production in Estonia. There are projects for further development of this technology and for expansion of its usage, e.g. in Jordan and USA.
The Alberta Taciuk process is an above-ground dry thermal retorting technology for extracting oil from oil sands, oil shale and other organics-bearing materials, including oil contaminated soils, sludges and wastes. The technology is named after its inventor William Taciuk and the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority.
Northern Estonia is a geographical region of Estonia, consisting of the three northernmost counties - Harju County, Ida-Viru County and Lääne-Viru County. The largest towns of Northern Estonia are Tallinn, Narva, Kohtla-Järve and Rakvere. Northern Estonia is the most populous area in Estonia, with 60.3% of the population living there.
VKG Elektrivõrgud is an electricity distribution company in Estonia. It is a subsidiary of Viru Keemia Grupp. VKG Elektrivõrgud is the second-largest power distribution company in Estonia, after Eesti Energia Jaotusvõrk.
Ahtme Power Plant was an oil shale-fired power plant in Ahtme, Kohtla-Järve, Estonia. It was owned by VKG Soojus, a subsidiary of Viru Keemia Grupp. Until the end 2012, it supplied with heat Ahtme district of Kohtla-Järve and Jõhvi.
The Kohtla-Järve Power Plant is an oil shale-fired power plant in Kohtla-Järve, Estonia, about 15 km to north-west of the Ahtme Power Plant. It is owned by VKG Soojus, a subsidiary of Viru Keemia Grupp. It consists of Põhja Power Plant and Lõuna Power Plant.
Esimene Eesti Põlevkivitööstus was an oil shale company located in Kohtla-Järve, Estonia. It was a predecessor of Viru Keemia Grupp, a shale oil extraction company.
Eestimaa Õlikonsortsium was an oil shale company located in Sillamäe, Estonia. The company was established in 1926. It was a Swedish–Norwegian consortium controlled by Marcus Wallenberg. Main shareholders were Investor AB, AB Emissionsinstitutet, and Norsk Hydro.
New Consolidated Gold Fields Ltd Estonian Branch was an oil shale company located in Kohtla-Nõmme, Estonia. It was a subsidiary of Consolidated Gold Fields.
Nitrofert AS is a manufacturer of fertilizers based in Kohtla-Järve, Estonia. It is a subsidiary of Ostchem Holding, owned by Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash.
Narva-Jõesuu is an urban municipality of Estonia, in Ida-Viru County. It comprises the town of Narva-Jõesuu, settlements of the former parish of Vaivara, and two former distant exclaves of the urban municipality of Kohtla-Järve. The municipality surrounds two exclave neighbourhoods of the city of Narva, Olgina and Kudruküla, both of which share their names with an adjacent village in Narva-Jõesuu municipality.
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