Pemex awards EPC work to Foster Wheeler for Salina Cruz clean fuels

Foster Wheeler has been awarded a contract by Mexico's Pemex for an ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) project at the Salina Cruz refinery in Oaxaca, Mexico, the companies announced on Tuesday.

Foster Wheeler’s scope of work, which also includes start-up and testing, is scheduled to be completed in 2018. The Foster Wheeler contract value was not disclosed. 

The initial release of work, relating to detailed design and the procurement of long-lead items, will be included in the company’s third-quarter 2014 bookings. The balance of the agreed workscope is expected to be released in 2015.

The investment in the Salina Cruz refinery, in excess of $500 million, is part of a significant clean fuels program being implemented by Pemex as a result of the country’s recent energy reform. 

The objective of the program is to significantly reduce the sulfur content of diesel produced from 500 to 15 parts per million (ppm).

The ULSD project at the Salina Cruz refinery, which Foster Wheeler is executing in joint venture with Arendal of Mexico, is a complex upgrade which includes the major revamp of four diesel hydrodesulphurization units, the installation of new units for hydrogen production, sulfur recovery and sour water stripping, and significant upgrades to the utilities and offsites facilities.

“We have a proven global track record in safely and successfully delivering complex refinery revamps and clean fuels projects in Mexico,' said Roberto Penno, CEO of Foster Wheeler's global engineering and construction group.

"We look forward to strengthening our already excellent working relationship with Pemex by bringing together this expertise to deliver outstanding results for this strategically important investment," he added. "We are delighted to be playing a key role in helping Pemex to achieve its vision for a new future, for which the energy reform has been the catalyst."