EXTENDED UNPLANNED OVERHAUL AT RECOPE’S PUERTO LIMON REFINERY IN COSTA RICA . . .
Recope’s Puerto Limon refinery in Costa Rica remains offline. All the processing units are scheduled to be online two weeks later than authorities expected

Recope aims at increasing the refinery’s current production to 38,000-bpd, 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.

All of the processing units at Puerto Limon Refinery owned by Recope, Costa Rica’s state-owned oil company, had to be shut down during the morning of August 15, 2007 when an important pump in Topping unit stopped working.

A planned maintenance shutdown in Topping and Thermal Cracker was scheduled to start on August 17, 2007; however, the pump damage brought about the unexpected shutdown of this unit on August 15. Puerto Limon refinery’s authorities were forced to shutdown Thermal Cracker, LPG, Platforming, Asphalt Vacuum, kerosene and Naphtha Hydrotreater, Wastewater Treatment and also Merox.

The startup in Topping took place on September 8, 2007; however, cleaning in Thermal Cracker will not be finished until September 15, 2007, because more coke was discovered in the unit than was previously expected. In the meantime, Asphalt Vacuum, LPG, Platforming, Hydrotreater (kerosene and Naphtha) and Merox, are still shut down and will remain offline until maintenance work and the change of the damaged pump in Topping are completed. Even though major maintenance work is being carried out in Topping and Thermal Craker, they are also performing minor maintenance such as change of piping in the flare and also equipment inspection in the gas concentration unit. (Source: Industrial Info Resources)