Over 3 thousand people work in the construction of the New Talara Refinery

The construction of the new Talara Refinery records an integral advance of 72.77% to date. The project contemplates the construction of 16 modern process units and five auxiliary units, which will allow the production of a greater quantity of clean fuels that guarantee the preservation of the country's air quality.                                                                                                                                                      

Jorge Alméstar Mauricio, Manager of the Talara Refinery Modernization Project (PMRT), informed that this Megaproject is still underway with a target of starting operations at the end of 2020, under a standard of quality, safety and environmental care.

On this topic he stated that to date more than 18 million hours have been executed without any disabling accidents, a fact of importance, considering the complexity of this construction that has been running in conjunction with the operation of the current refinery.

On the other hand, he informed that along with the construction of the process plants, which have an advance of close to 90%, preliminary works of foundations and topographic studies are being carried out for the construction of the Auxiliary Units and Complementary Works in charge of Contractor Cobra SCL UA & TC.

The new industrial complex is being built with the highest technology standards to produce Euro VI quality fuels. Additionally, the new plant will process up to 95 thousand barrels per day, unlike the current one that has a capacity of 65 thousand barrels per day.

Similarly, Alméstar Mauricio explained that 3,432 people currently work on the site. The unskilled local labor has a participation of 87%, surpassing the minimum of 70% established in the Environmental Impact Study (EIA); meanwhile, local skilled labor had a 39% share.

To take into account:

The construction of the new Talara refinery is carried out to comply with current legal regulations, to preserve air quality and contribute to the improvement of public health by reducing sulfur in fuels to 10 parts per million; as well as, to ensure the supply of fuels in the national market.

The new refinery is a technological development that will completely modify the current production scheme, allowing to process heavy crudes and carry out the deep conversion of residuals to valuable products (diesel, naphtha and LPG) and low octane gasoline to high octane gasoline, thanks to its new units of flexicoking and catalytic reforming, licensed by Exxon Mobil and Axens, respectively.