Pemex lets contract for Salamanca refinery

Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has let a contract to South Korea’s Samsung Engineering Co. Ltd. for the execution of an ultralow-sulfur diesel (ULSD) project at its Antonio M. Amor refinery in Salamanca, in Guanajuato state.

The $80 million contract, awarded on an open-book cost estimation basis, covers Phase I of the project, which includes detail engineering and procurement of long-lead items, Samsung Engineering said.

Samsung Engineering’s design will include a 38,000-b/d hydrodesulfurization (HDS) unit as well as the revamping of the refinery’s existing 53,000-b/d HDS unit, the company said.

Initial engineering for Phase 1 of the project is scheduled to be completed in September 2015, Samsung Engineering said.

A second leg of the project, Phase 2, will include the rest of detail engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning. Samsung Engineering, however, did not disclose further details regarding this stage of the project.

The Salamanca refinery upgrade is part of Pemex’s $2.8 billion plan to increase ULSD production at five of Mexico’s refineries. Upon unveiling details of the fuel quality project earlier this month, Pemex confirmed the total value of Samsung Engineering’s contract for the Salamanca project at about $359 million (OGJ Online, Sept. 15, 2014).