All first-phase units in operation at Abreu e Lima refinery, Petrobras says
March 19, 2015
Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has commissioned the first of two 75,000-b/d delayed coking units at its Abreu e Lima refinery (Rnest) at the port of Suape, near Recife, the capital of Brazil’s Pernambuco state.
Start-up of the delayed coker, which took place on Mar. 13, completes commissioning of all processing equipment to be included in Rnest’s first 115,000-b/d phase, Petrobras said.
While initial start-up activities for Rnest’s first production train began on Nov. 18 following official approval from Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency, furnaces in the first train’s atmospheric distillation did not enter service until Dec. 3 (OGJ Online, Dec. 5, 2014; Nov. 19, 2014).
Crude oil processing at the refinery’s first train started on Dec. 6, with Rnest’s first commercial sale of diesel occurring later in the same month, Petrobras said.
The company also recently began start-up activities on a diesel hydrotreater as part of the commissioning process for the refinery’s second 115,000-b/d production train, which is due to come on line later this year (OGJ Online, Mar. 13, 2015).
While local media outlets have reported Rnest’s second phase has been delayed alongside the currently weaker crude oil price environment, as well as allegations of internal company corruption, Petrobras said on Jan. 29 that it remains on schedule to complete construction and commissioning of the second production train by May.
