Ecuador: Petroecuador Reschedules Kick-Off Rehabilitation Project for Esmeraldas Refinery

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources Latin America (Cordoba, Argentina)--EPPetroecuador (Quito, Ecuador) has rescheduled maintenance turnaround dates on its main crude oil production units as part of the Esmeraldas refinery rehabilitation project.

The project will entail modification on the 55,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) Topping 1 and the 55,000-BBL/d Topping 2 units, to increase crude oil production capacity to 65,000 BBL/d each. Also, the catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) will process 28,000 BBL/d instead of 18,000 BBL/d.

The Esmeraldas refinery is Ecuador's most important refinery, with a total output capacity of 110,000 BBL/d. Investments to increase capacity to 130,000 BBL/d are estimated to be US$370 million.

The company will delay the beginning of work from the rehabilitation project--originally scheduled to start in September 2013--until April 2014. The construction was delayed because the refinery expects to reach required refined products stock, allowing it to shut down for the necessary amount of months to perform the modernization of the equipment.

"Contingence maintenance" works were performed on units with a critical equipment situation in the first six months of this year, allowing them to process until the beginning of the project. The work was carried out by SK Engineering & Construction through its office in Houston, Texas.

EPPetroecuador also owns the 45,000-BBL/d La Libertad and the 20,000-BBL/d Shushufindi refineries. Both refineries will adapt their future turnaround program to the Esmeraldas rehabilitation project.

View Plant Profile - 1021399
View Project Report - 300012776 300037459 300037456

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and nine international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.