Esmeraldas Refinery in Ecuador Advances Recovery Following Fire

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Researched by IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)--EP Petroecuador's 110,000 barrel-per-day Esmeraldas Refinery, Ecuador's largest refining facility, continues to make progress in the gradual recovery of its operations following the fire that occurred on March 1 at the 26,000-barrel-per-day Visbreaker 1 (Sevia 1) unit.

The incident forced the state-owned company to completely shut down the refinery as a precautionary measure while the damage caused by the fire was assessed. During the first weeks following the event, the facility remained entirely offline, and uncertainty persisted regarding the timeline for restarting operations.

Industrial Info Resources offers information on the refinery in its Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Petroleum Refining Plant and Project databases, where readers can find details--including unit details and construction/maintenance schedules--in a plant profile and project reports. According to Industrial Info Resources data, 21 projects at the Esmeraldas Refinery account for US$111 million in investment value.

The recovery process began on March 17, when EP Petroecuador successfully restarted the Crude 2 unit, which has a capacity of 55,000 barrels per day (bpd.) Initially, the unit operated at reduced rates but gradually increased throughput over the following weeks.

Subsequently, the Vacuum 2 unit, with a capacity of 15,900 bpd, and the Merox 100 unit were also brought back online, although the latter experienced temporary interruptions during April. By early May, the refinery was maintaining partial operations while inspection, repair and commissioning work continued on the remaining units.

A significant milestone was achieved in mid-May with the return to service of the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU), which has a capacity of 20,000 bpd and is considered one of the refinery's key assets for producing higher-value fuels. The FCCU began its startup process on May 15 and officially resumed operations the following day. The Merox 200 and Merox 300 N units were also brought back online, gradually strengthening the complex's production capacity.

The recovery effort took another step forward in early June with the restart of the Crude 1 unit, which has a capacity of 55,000 bpd and had remained offline since the fire. The startup process began on June 1, and the unit resumed production on June 3, reaching an estimated throughput of approximately 41,000 bpd. At the same time, the company restarted the 32,000-bpd Vacuum 1 unit, as well as the CCR unit, which has a capacity of 10,000 bpd.

The unit directly affected by the fire, Visbreaker 1 (Sevia 1), remains out of service and continues to represent the primary challenge to the refinery's full recovery. Authorities had previously indicated that the complete restoration process could be completed by mid- to-late June, although the final timeline will depend on the progress of repair work and safety assessments on the units that remain offline.

The Esmeraldas Refinery represents a strategic asset for Ecuador's energy system, and its gradual recovery is considered essential to ensuring domestic fuel supply and reducing reliance on imports while rehabilitation work continues on the affected facilities.

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