Repsol awaits approval to restart crude deliveries to Peruvian refinery

Repsol SA is awaiting approval from the Peruvian government to resume port activities at the nearby maritime terminal of subsidiary Refinería La Pampilla SAA’s 117,000-b/d refinery in the Ventanilla district of El Callao, Peru, following a mid-January oil spill that has since left terminal operations shuttered.

As of Feb. 3., Repsol has submitted all required documentation to government officials regarding the operator’s revised contingency and management plans for hydrocarbon spills at sea and was awaiting direction regarding restart of port activities at Terminal Marítimo La Pampilla’s terminals 1, 3, and 4, none of which were impacted by the spill, Repsol said in a series of releases.

In a live broadcast on Feb. 4, José Reyes, La Pampilla refinery’s senior manager of safety, quality, and environment, confirmed progress in cleanup efforts has resulted in Repsol revising its completion date for cleanup of the sea environment offshore Pasamayo—just north of Lima—to Feb. 15 from an earlier end-February estimate.

Beach cleanup activities at Costa Azul, Ventanilla, Cavero, Pachacutec, Bahía Blanca, Playa Chica, Playa Grande, Isla Mata Cuatro, Balneario Marina Sur, Balneario de la Marina, Norte Miramar, Pocitas, and Conchitas continue to progress, with additional resources added daily to advance efforts, according to the latest situation reports.

Based on the latest figures posted to its website, Repsol—along with its partners from more than 50 international companies specializing in oil-spill containment, government agencies, and local volunteers—has recovered about 40% of the estimated 10,386-bbl volumes that spilled from the Mare Doricum vessel on Jan. 15.

While Repsol has yet to explicitly confirm the status of La Pampilla refinery operations following the halt to crude offloadings at the connected marine terminal, the operator did reiterate in its situation updates the necessity to resume “[maritime] activities as soon as possible” to avoid risk of essential product shortages to the Peruvian market.

The La Pampilla refinery’s production accounts for about 40% of the Peruvian fuels market, Repsol said.

Further details regarding an anticipated timeframe for government approvals to restart operations at terminals 1, 3, and 4 of the refinery’s maritime terminal have yet to be disclosed.