Lukoil, the second largest oil company in Russia, began construction of the second stage of a gas processing unit (GPU-2) on Stavrolen in Budennovsk in the Stavropol Territory on 7 October, the company said.

　　The construction of the GPU-2 will increase the intake of associated petroleum gas from the fields of the North Caspian to 5 billion cubic meters. m per year, which will increase the volume of valuable raw materials for pyrolysis (ethane and NGL), which Stavrolen uses to produce marketable products.

　　GPU-2 is the first facility to be built as part of a comprehensive enterprise development program. The company plans to increase the productivity of pyrolysis technological units, as well as the volume and range of produced polyethylene and polypropylene.

　　It is expected that following the implementation of the comprehensive development program for Stavrolen, the capacity for ethylene production will grow from 350 to 420 thousand tons per year, polyethylene - from 300 to 405 thousand tons, copolymer grades of polypropylene - from 80,000 to 120,000 tonnes.

　　Lukoil plans to invest 300 billion rubles in the development of the Stavrolen petrochemical enterprise.