Geotechnical investigation and testing – Refinery INA Rijeka
The modernization of the Rijeka Oil Refinery is the largest single investment project in the history of the INA oil company. The project includes the construction of a heavy waste treatment plant, the reconstruction of existing units, as well as the construction of a new port with a closed coke warehouse at the INA Rijeka Refinery. The first phase of work on the new plant started in 2020, and commissioning is expected in 2023.
The main contractor on this important project is KT – Kinetics Technology, an international company based in Italy specializing in services in the refining and petrochemical industries. Considering that the construction of a heavy waste treatment plant is a complex and comprehensive project, a large number of specialized companies participate in its implementation alongside KT, including numerous subcontractors from Croatia. The largest subcontractor for KT – Kinetics Technology is the prominent Zagreb-based company Ivicom Consulting d.o.o., specialized in consulting, engineering, supervision, project management and construction of various industrial plants as well as other buildings and infrastructural projects.
For the purpose of construction of a heavy waste treatment plant, a plan and methodology for geotechnical investigation and testing have been developed. We have carried out the plan and methodology, as well as geotechnical investigation and testing as subcontractors of the company Ivicom Consulting d.o.o.
The Rijeka Oil Refinery is located on the Bakar Peninsula. The wider area is represented by the INA – Oil Refinery Complex, most of which is fully constructed, with access asphalt and concrete roads, retaining walls and units of the refinery complex. Due to the natural slope of the terrain towards the coast, the refinery complex was formed into several terraces.
The scope of work includes the following activities:
– Engineering geological mapping of the terrain for the purpose of geological and geotechnical prospecting of the area with reference to morphology and active geomorphological processes
– Geophysical, geotechnical and environmental investigation
– Geotechnical and laboratory environmental testing
For the INA Rijeka Refinery modernization project, we have conducted geotechnical investigation and testing that included:
- Engineering-geological mapping of the location
- Exploratory core drilling (a total of 1,5 km drilled, 77 boreholes)
- Execution of Standard penetration test (SPT)
- Lugeon permeability test
- Weekly groundwater level determination in drilled boreholes and piezometers
- Sampling of water from existing piezometers to determine water pH and the presence of chloride and sulfate ions
- Drilled boreholes injection and filling with injection mixture
- Vertical georeferenced video logging of drilled boreholes (push rod camera)
- Vertical and horizontal video logging of drilled boreholes (lateral camera)
- Execution of probing pits (41 probing pits executed)
- Dynamic compressibility module testing with a dynamic plate
- Environmental tests (a set of chemical tests that include determining the level of metals and hydrocarbons in the soil)
- Ground-penetrating radar (20,3 km tested with geo radar)
- Seismic refraction testing (4,9 km tested)
- Geoelectric tomography testing (4,6 km tested)
- Laboratory tests of samples from probing pits (50 kg and 2 kg samples) which include organic matter content, CBR, Standard Proctor, granulation, volume and specific gravity, CaCO3 determination, soil pH value, sulfate and chloride ions content
- Laboratory testing of samples from boreholes in an accredited geotechnical laboratory
Based on the conducted investigation and testing lasting 6 months, we have made geotechnical reports that will be a basis for the design of a New Coke Silo, Conveyor Handling System and Interconnecting Piperack.
