Repsol has announced that it has completed an upgrade to the Cartagena refinery, which will now be able to pump out 220,000 barrels per day. The conversion, the most expensive industrial investment taken in the history of Spain at $3bn, has also seen the facility upgraded to cater for a wider range of crudes.
“The Cartagena refinery had a very simple production scheme, which only admitted rare and expensive sweet crudes,” explained Jose Luque, the facility’s director. “Now our technology accepts any crude and transforms it into top quality and clean fuels.”
The facility will now operate at a conversion level of 90%, with 30 new units doubling the distillation of the refinery. The change represents a drastic alteration to the capabilities of the refinery, Repsol said, with its capacity for refining heavy crude rocketing from 6% to 70%. The changes will also have a positive impact on the environmental impact of the complex, said Luque. The new upgrade will have “a very positive impact on the overall balance of CO2 emissions,” he said.
PetrolWorld 28092012