On 24 March, China’s Energy Minister Nur Bekri visited Preem‘s refinery in Gothenburg. Preem is Sweden’s largest oil company. The visit took place jointly with a delegation from the Energy Authority National Energy Administration.
“We are honored that China’s Energy Minister wants to be inspired by our production of renewable fuels. It shows that Preem is leading the transformation towards a sustainable society,” said Mattias Backmark, Director of Business Development at Preem.
How to take advantage of excess heat is also something that the Chinese delegation was interested. It is an area where Preem is far ahead. In connection with the refining a surplus of heat is created, and this residual heat is supplied in two water systems to Gothenburg Energy. The heat is used partly for the district-heating network, and partly in the production at Volvo. For the district heating network about 300 GWh per year is supplied, which corresponds to a warming of about 30 000 houses. To Volvo approximately 200 GWh is delivered annually.
“We make use of almost 90% of the residual heat from our refinery in Gothenburg, which in itself represents a saving of 150 000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. At the refinery in Lysekil there is potential for 800 GWh of surplus heat, but regulated access to district heating networks hampers the utilization. But here both we and China can get better and we welcome learning across national boundaries,” says Mattias Backmark.
The City of Gothenburg, through Business Region Göteborg, hosted the Chinese visitors and after a few short presentations by som SMEs with innovative solutions, the delegation took a bus tour to Preem’s biorefinery in Gothenburg. After that Volvo Cars took over and hosted a lunch and the afternoon programme out at the Torslanda car plant.
Nur Bekri and the Swedish Energy Minister Ibrahim Baylan also signed an agreement on energy. China will make major investments in renewables and the country will be during 2016-2020 to invest a total of 2.5 trillion yuan, equivalent to 3.3 trillion Swedish kronor, in the production of renewable energy. Swedish companies, such as Preem, has the technology, expertise and advanced solutions that can contribute positively to China’s continued rapid development, where the country is now also increasingly focused on technology solutions for a better environment and reduced emissions.
About two-thirds, or ten million ton of Preem’s total refined production, is exported each year. This makes Preem Sweden’s third largest export company.
Preem is Sweden’s largest oil company. Their stated vision is to lead the transformation towards a sustainable society. Their two refineries are among the most modern and environmentally friendly in Europe, with a refining capacity of over 18 million cubic meters of crude oil per year. Their activities include the production, sale, distribution, trading and supply. They refine and sell gasoline, diesel, heating oil and renewable fuels to businesses and individuals in Sweden.
