During his tour of the country’s south-east, Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador visited the Cangrejera Petrochemical Complex, where the CEO of Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), Octavio Romero Oropeza, announced the project to incorporate a refining production train that will process 200,000 barrels (In Spanish, Mbd) of light crude oil per day for fuel production (LPG, gasoline, jet fuel, diesel y and fuel oil), as well as to produce petrochemicals.Romero Oropeza pointed out that this project would produce the 25 Mbd of Naphthas that PEMEX is currently importing; it would increase crude oil processing in the National Refinery System, creating products with an increased added value, such as Gasoline, Diesel and Jet Fuel, and LP Gas.
The PEMEX CEO stated that the Aromatics Production Train of the complex began operations in 1982, producing Benzene, Toluene and Xylenes, which are part of the value chain of the petrochemical industry. In 1998, as a consequence of the decline in light crude oil production, there was a change in the load of the complex, from light crude oil to heavy crude oil, following changes in refinery framework that did not allow for the processing of topped or reduced crude, and the decision was made to export it at the Pajaritos Maritime Terminal.He pointed out that, in 2009, and because of the reduction in crude oil availability, it was decided to put the crude oil stabilization plant and to begin importing naphtha, which further reduced the complex’s profitability.
To date, the aromatics production train continues to operate using imported naphtha and a small fraction of natural fuels, in a process that has limited profitability and greatly squanders the potential of the facilities.Within the framework established by the current administration’s National Development Plan, Romero Oropeza said that this important work center will be incorporated into other strategic projects following an overhaul, which is part of the efforts for assuring the country’s energy sovereignty.
The PEMEX CEO also stated that the forecasted investment, construction times and profitability indexes, as well as the confirmation of the project’s feasibility based on projections on crude oil availability for the duration of the project, will be submitted in the coming weeks. He also stated that it is thanks to this kind of projects, that our country is headed in a clear direction regarding energy production, geared towards attaining sovereignty in this area.The governor of the State of Veracruz, Cuitláhuac García Jiménez; Secretary of Energy Rocío Nahle García; and the municipal president of Coatzacoalcos, Víctor Manuel Carranza, also attended this event.
