Unplanned Overhaul at Puerto Limon Refinery in Costa Rica

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas) -- All of the processing units at Puerto Limon Refinery owned by Recope, Costa Rica’s state-owned oil company, had to be shutdown during the morning of August 15, 2007 when an important pump in Topping unit stopped working. The Vacuum Asphalt unit is the only unit that remains online; however, it is scheduled to be shutdown on Monday, August 20, 2007. Authorities expect to have all of the processing units back online by the first week of September 2007.

A planned maintenance shutdown in the Topping and Thermal Cracking units was scheduled to start on August 17, 2007; however, the pump damage brought about the unexpected early shutdown of this unit on August 15. Puerto Limon refinery’s authorities were forced to shutdown Thermal Cracker, LPG, Platforming, kerosene and Naphtha Hydrotreater, Wastewater Treatment and also Merox. Asphalt Vacuum unit is still processing and will be shutdown on Monday, August 20. Maintenance will be performed only in Topping and Thermal Cracker. The rest of the units will remain shutdown until maintenance and cleaning work in Thermal Cracker and Topping and the change of the damaged pump are completed. The unexpected overhaul is to last 18 days, Costa Rica’s state-owned company’s authorities expect to have all Puerto Limon refinery’s processing units running at normal rates by the end of the first week of September 2007.

Recope has expansion plans for the refinery. The company plans to increase current production to 38,000 b/d, improve the environmental quality of its fuels, increase jet fuel production and produce higher octane gasoline, low sulfur diesel and biofuels. Completion is to take approximately 28 months, for which the company plans to have phase II Puerto Limon Modernization ready by 2010. Companies such as Astra Evangelista (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Dragados Industrial (Madrid, Spain) have expressed strong interest in participating in the engineering, procurement and construction of the $160 million Phase II Puerto Limon Refinery Modernization. For details view related – June 11, 2007 - Several Companies Interested in Phase II Puerto Limon Refinery Modernization in Costa Rica

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