Maxim Novikov: ‘94.8% of light oil product recovery from a tonne of feedstock is not the limit’
International exhibition Russia Halal Expo 2025 united stands of 12 countries and 11 regions of the Russian Federation
The 16th International Economic Forum Russia — Islamic World: KazanForum finished its work in Kazan bringing together guests from 103 countries. The business programme included about 140 conferences in 20 key areas of work. Also traditionally, the international exhibition of economic and scientific-technological cooperation Russia Halal Expo 2025 was held at Kazan Expo. Dozens of stands of states, regions and representatives of large businesses were located in two pavilions. One of the prominent participants of Russia Halal Expo 2025 was TAIF-NK oil refining company. Read more about it in the report of Realnoe Vremya.
Forum slogan reads “Trust and cooperation”
The forum Russia — Islamic World: KazanForum began its work on 13 May, but the official opening of both it and the Russia Halal Expo 2025 exhibition took place on 15 May. And on this day, the site of the Kazan Expo was very crowded.
The forum itself was held in Kazan for the 16th time, and for the third time it has the status of a federal event.
The official part was preceded by a verse from the Holy Quran, heard from the lips of the Chairman of the Muslim Spiritual Board of the Republic of Tatarstan, Mufti of Tatarstan Hazrat Kamil Samigullin.
“On behalf of the government of the Russian Federation and on my own behalf, I am pleased to welcome you to the International Economic Forum Russia — Islamic World: KazanForum! The main slogan of the forum is Trust and Cooperation. And this is no coincidence. It is the strengthening of mutual trust that has become the foundation on which relations between Russia and Muslim countries are built today. Trust is a key factor in the development of our partnership, which covers all aspects of multifaceted cooperation and develops into a strong strategic partnership,” Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the preparation and holding of the annual International Economic Forum Russia — Islamic World: KazanForum Marat Khusnullin greeted the audience.
The deputy prime minister of the Federal Government also emphasized:
“We highly appreciate the readiness of our partners for direct dialogue and a deep understanding of the Russian position on key international and regional issues. This approach allows us not only to maintain, but also to strengthen our partnership. New horizons for cooperation are opening up. This is confirmed by the dynamic growth of trade turnover between Russia and the states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Over the past four years, it has grown by 44%. Tourism also stimulates economic growth and creates new prospects for partnership. Over the past five years, the number of tourist traffic between Russia and the OIC states has increased by 26%, and the number of tourists has grown by 2.5 times. I am confident that through joint efforts we will be able to maintain the high pace of cooperation in the future.”
OIC Deputy Secretary General for Economic Affairs, His Excellency Dr Ahmad Kawesa Sengendo, emphasized the importance of the halal industry on a global scale, which has long gone beyond the boundaries of religion and has become, as the speaker emphasized, “a symbol of good quality and usefulness.” Welcoming the participants and guests of the forum and exhibition, he expressed hope that this exhibition will serve as a reliable basis for all interested parties to come together and discuss issues related to the development of the halal industry in the Russian Federation, and will contribute to strengthening further cooperation between the OIC member states and the Russian Federation.
Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan, Chairman of the Strategic Vision Group Russia — Islamic World Rustam Minnikhanov noted:
“Over the years of its existence, KazanForum has become a unique platform for communication between representatives of international organizations, government bodies, financial institutions, diplomatic missions, leading investors and businessmen, as well as top managers of Russian and foreign companies. Traditionally, the annual international exhibition of the halal industry Russia Halal Expo is held within the framework of KazanForum. It covers almost all sectors of the economy and brings together companies. The forum and exhibition facilitate the exchange of experience and best practices of the Halal industry, development of cultural exchange, creation of opportunities for discussion of new technological development devices and strengthening of mutual understanding between peoples, political relations between states.”
Rustam Minnikhanov invited everyone to take an active part in the business programme of the forum and be sure to find an opportunity to visit the exhibition. He and his colleagues at the grand opening ceremony set a personal example by going around the exhibition. And there really was something to look at.
And one hall is not enough
Some of the exhibition exhibits greeted the guests already on the outdoor area of the Kazan Expo. It is understandable: helicopters, trucks and cars, as well as ships simply would not fit indoors. Moreover, in the vast areas of the main exhibition complex, there was literally not a single free meter left.
Both showrooms amazed with the scope and diversity of exhibits. Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, the Republic of Turkey, Morocco, the UAE, Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Senegal and regions of Russia brought to the capital of Tatarstan what they are proud of and what they are ready to offer to business partners.
The TAIF Group stand, which united TAIF-NK JSC, TGK-16 JSC and TAIF-SM LLC, attracted the attention of many. One of the first to get acquainted not only with the products on offer, but also to learn more about oil refining technologies, was a solid delegation from Afghanistan, accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Tatarstan Oleg Korobchenko.
“No one else in the world has such a result among crude oil refiners”
A little later, and no less attentively, the presentation of the General Director of TAIF-NK Maxim Novikov was listened to by officials.
“In the processing of crude oil, TAIF-NK uses its own technology — TAIF-Combi. Today, our selection of light oil products is 94.8%. No one else in the world has such a result among crude oil refiners. We are constantly working on deepening the processing. In November last year, we announced the delivery of the final processing unit. We have been successfully working on it for about five months now and have already produced more than 30,000 tonnes of concentrated residue of tar hydrocracking,” Maxim Novikov gave a short presentation.
“Is everything working fine?” the rais of Tatarstan clarified, thereby demonstrating that he was aware of the technology in question.
“Yes. We ship products to consumers,” Timur Shigabutdinov, General Director of TAIF JSC (editor's note: the parent company of TAIF Group of Companies), joined the conversation.
Rustam Minnikhanov, in turn, glancing at the TAIF-NK stand, briefly said something to Deputy Secretary General of the OIC for Economic Affair Akhmad Kawesa Sengendo who was taking part in the tour of the exposition. It can be assumed that the conversation was precisely about the technological breakthrough of the Tatarstan oil refining company.
“The type and quality of feedstock are very important”
A little later, in an interview for the media, Maxim Novikov explained why in his speech he focused on the indicator of light oil product extraction from crude oil.
“During the presentation to the rais of Tatarstan and the guests of the exhibition, we told about our proprietary technology. It is called TAIF-Combi and is designed to maximize the depth of oil refining with the production of high-margin, high-quality light oil products. Let me repeat, we have achieved an indicator of 94.8% light oil product extraction. And from crude oil. And this is very important, because many oil refineries, unlike TAIF-NK, use mixed raw materials. We process crude oil that is produced in the Russian Federation, mainly in Tatarstan. Frankly speaking, it is not the best raw material. On a global scale, the sulphur content in the oil we process is much higher,” noted the general director of TAIF-NK JSC.
What used to remain after processing tar and gas oil at the complex for deep processing of heavy residues of oil distillation — a dark, little-demanded, low-margin product, since last fall has been transformed into light high-quality oil products of a standard no lower than Euro-5 and the same concentrated residue of tar hydrocracking that Maxim Novikov told visitors to the stand about.
“This raw material has undergone serious processing stages involving hydrogen, high temperatures and pressure. We have removed as much sulphur from it as possible. For information: the sulphur recovery rate at TAIF-NK is 94%. And this is not the limit. The higher the recovery of light, the greater the sulphur recovery. In addition, our final product concentrated residue of tar hydrocracking is completely free from the “headache” for all metallurgists — the carcinogen benzopyrene. It is environmentally friendly. As a result, the product has unique and sought-after properties, is interesting to the metallurgical industry and has an attractive price for us. Plus, this is our contribution to the overall marginality of the company's production processes and the environmental friendliness of the processes. The positive effect of operating this new unit for five months has already been proven in practice,” emphasized Maxim Novikov.
As for sulphur extracted from petroleum feedstock, it also found a use. The company has mastered the production of fertilizer — sulphur bentonite. TAIF-NK presented it for the first time in July last year at the International Agro-Industrial Exhibition AgroVolga. The company also brought samples of this product to KazanForum. And sulphur bentonite aroused serious interest.
“We focus on quality”
TAIF-NK is among the leaders among oil refiners not only in terms of light oil product extraction, but also in terms of the complexity of the technology used.
“We have analyzed reliable sources on all oil refining technologies used in the world and on the actual results achieved. We can confidently state: in terms of light oil product extraction per ton of crude oil feedstock, we occupy the first place on a global scale. Naturally, this can only be achieved using high-tech equipment. 12.8 on the Nelson index is a very high figure,” emphasized the CEO of TAIF-NK JSC.
He also added:
“Yes, it is quite possible that one of our colleagues in the oil refining industry can say that they have achieved the same, or even better, results. But! It is necessary to take into account what exactly the companies process — what raw materials and what products they receive at the output. We process heavy high-sulphur oil and obtain 94.8% of the light oil product recovery. We focus on quality. Perhaps, we do not have the largest volumes: in total, our processing is about 8 million tonnes of raw materials per year. But we do our job well and get the maximum effect. And in this, few in the world can compete with us.”
In conclusion of the interview, Maxim Novikov emphasized: specialized exhibitions and forums are a good impetus for establishing new business contacts and strengthening existing agreements. Moreover, as the company's CEO noted, the events themselves fly by very quickly, and there is barely enough time for preliminary negotiations and exchanging contacts. And the main communication between specialists begins after the fact. Therefore, we can return to the topic of the real effect of Russia Halal Expo 2025 a little later.
