Argentina: YPF Bets on NEC 10 Project to Improve Fuel Quality

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The path of Argentine energy company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales SA (YPF) is marked by the progress of its NEC 10 project to meet new fuel specifications. The project involves modifications to its refineries to obtain final products with lower sulfur content, as well as increasing gasoline production by 10%.

The NEC 10 project is aligned with environmental standards that establish sulfur levels in gasoline and diesel in Argentina. The modifications at its refineries aim at complying with the new specifications and improving fuel quality, resulting in a less harmful environmental impact due to reduced emissions.

Upgrades and modifications are being carried out at the Lujan de Cuyo, La Plata and Plaza Huincul refineries, involving both the construction of new units and the renovation of existing ones. At the Lujan de Cuyo refinery, the remodeling work on one of its diesel hydrodesulfurization (HDS) units was completed in 2023, while work continues with the construction of new hydrogen and HDS units, as well as revamps to HDS 3 and the expansion of the Topping 3 unit. These projects are expected to be finished by the end of 2024.

At the La Plata refinery, modifications to the Topping D unit to increase its processing capacity to 85,000 barrels per day (BBL/d), as well as major work on the naphtha HDS unit, were completed in October and January 2023, respectively. Work continues until the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025 for the construction of a new naphtha unit and the revamp of the existing vacuum unit. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Petroleum Refining Project Database can click here for a list of detailed project reports.

At Plaza Huincul, YPF's smallest operational refinery, progress is being made on expanding the topping unit to increase production capacity by 10%.

Currently, YPF only produces a small percentage of low-sulfur diesel. Once the project is completed, all diesel production will meet the required standards. Another significant improvement is to adapt the facilities to increase the refining capacity of unconventional oil from Vaca Muerta.

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