Recycling Puts Sola Refinery in Norway to Good Use

Ninety-nine per cent of Norway’s decommissioned Sola refinery is being put to good use in a project to recycle plant and materials on an unprecedented scale.

Sola refinery, which processed low sulphur crude oil from the North Sea, was decommissioned as part of the European refinery rationalisation strategy. Thirty thousand tons of steel and 60,000 tons of concrete are being reused, and valuable pieces of plant equipment have been sold, all in the name of sustainable development.
For example, a group of farmers in Stavanger are using fans – which were once used to extract heat from the refinery – to dry manure for use as fertilisers.

But as well as benefiting the local community in Stavanger, where the refinery was situated, the project is benefiting people and businesses on the other side of the world.
A total isomerisation plant, used to produce unleaded fuel, has been sold to the Belgian Refinery Corporation. And Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage tanks have been sold to Refineria Dominicana de Petroleo in the Dominican Republic, which helps bring power to one of the world’s poorer nations.

“Our goal now is to ensure that the soil on which the refinery stood is clear of pollutants. We are in the process of cleaning it and leaving it in place for the next development on site or natural regeneration,” said Sigbjørn Egeland, who managed the recycling project.