Details emerge on Pemex’s Salina Cruz refinery upgrade

Oct. 14, 2014
Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has let a contract to a subsidiary of Foster Wheeler AG’s global engineering and construction group for work related to an ultralow-sulfur diesel (ULSD) project at its Antonio Dovali Jaime refinery in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca.

Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has let a contract to a subsidiary of Foster Wheeler AG’s global engineering and construction group for work related to an ultralow-sulfur diesel (ULSD) project at its Antonio Dovali Jaime refinery in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca.

The ULSD project at Salina Cruz, to be executed in joint venture with Mexican construction company Arendal, Monterrey, will include a major revamp of four diesel hydrodesulfurization units; the installation of units for hydrogen production, sulfur recovery, and sour water stripping; and extensive upgrades to the utilities and offsite installations, Foster Wheeler said.

Foster Wheeler’s scope of work, which also includes start-up and testing, is scheduled to be completed in 2018, the company said.

While Foster Wheeler did not disclose the precise value of the contract, Pemex previously announced its value at $584 million (OGJ Online, Sept. 15, 2014).

The Salina Cruz refinery upgrade is part of the diesel phase of Pemex’s recently announced fuel quality project, which involves a $2.8 billion investment into increasing ULSD production at five of Mexico’s refineries following the country’s recent energy reform (OGJ Online, Aug. 21, 2014; Aug. 18, 2014).

Designed to improve the qualities of air and fuels, the fuel quality project involves the construction of new and modernization of existing plants to reduce the sulfur content of Mexico’s diesel production to 15 ppm from 500 ppm, which will lower the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than 12,000 tpy, according to Emillio Lozoya Austin, Pemex’s chief executive officer.

In addition to the, Pemex also let contracts for work related to the fuel quality project to:

• Tecnicas Reunidas ($568 million) for the Lazaro Cardenas refinery near Minatitlan in Veracruz state.

• ICA Flour Daniel ($737 million) for the Francisco I. Madero refinery in Madero, Tamaulipas.

• Samsung Engineering Co. Ltd. ($359 million) for the Antonio M. Amor refinery in Salamanca, Guanajuato.

• ACS Group ($560 million) for the Miguel Hidalgo refinery in Tula, Hidalgo.