ULSD

Might As Well Learn A Little About The Subject

Fluor Corporation does virtually all of Shell Oil Co. refinery and upgrade construction. The Shell / Pemex joint venture refinery in Deer Park Texas is an example how Shell and Petroleos Mexicanos are interfaced. Japan produces a surplus limited as it is, of ULSD. The supply of ULSD is also highly tensioned in the USA. There is not a great surplus because of refinery construction and expansion government constraints. Japan indeed ships a very limited quantity of it's ULSD to the Rosarito / El Sauzal Baja California offshore terminal.

The technical side:

HYDROTREATING PROCESS

The raw diesel oil produced at the refinery contains more than 500ppm of sulfur and this is of course unacceptable. The diesel can contain the sulfur in a variety of forms but it is most likely to be as a range of organic sulfur compounds (thiols, thiophenes, organic sulfides and disulfides).

Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), with levels of sulfur down as low as 15ppm, requires a very efficient desulfurization process. The process relies on the vapor stage reaction of sulfur-containing organics over a molybdenum disulphide (catalyst is used with an alumina support and also has a small quantity of cobalt) or ruthenium disulfide catalyst in the presence of hydrogen.

Hydrogen has three important roles in the reactions – it can remove sulfide by forming hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas which is removed to recover the sulfur; it can also hydrogenate unsaturated compounds in the stream to produce better quality naphtha; and it can also carry out hydrogenolysis of certain undesirable compounds such as thiophenes.

Sulfur reduction produces a surplus of sulfur. The output of a 100,000 bbl day facility can yield 120-180 tons of sulfur. Read DAILY!

Standard diesel is 300-400 ppm
Diesel marina is 600 -1100 ppm

There are stations in the USA dispensing low sulfur diesel not ULSD. California ULSD is mandated by law to be virtually colorless. Standard diesel us dyed red. A 1 liter glass jar is needed to accurately compare color irclack of.

Ever see Delayed Coker and Sulfur treatment refinery vessels? They are huge. Cannot even be transported by rail. Must be assembled on site. Pemex runs it's mouth at publicity banquets to tone down harsh gobernacion and environmental criticism. Jesus Pemex was due to start producing UBA Premium gasoline at it's refinacion Salina Cruz in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016. Talk talk talk. Imported fuel and allowance of extraneous retail vendors was done for a reason. Need a computer to guess why?

Other than dyed fuel diesel of all types can be different colors. I have had almost clear ULSD and amber. May have to do with the presence of Biofuel. Some states and provinces have laws that there must be some biodiesel. What a joke!

Moisheh

I am going to bring a jar of US diesel down this fall. I am curious to see if there is a visible difference. I suspect staions will not advertise if they have ULSD, so it would be nice to know if you can tell by looking at it.

Mexico will dribble by dribble expand it's UBA project due to liberalization of allowing "Extraneous" distributors.

When México gets UBA it will make more noise than Saint Patrick's Day in San Patricio, Jalisco. México Distrito Federal luego México the state. Wait and see who brings diesel UBA to México.

Here are some more bits and pieces about the ULSD projects that appear to be going on in Mexico. Reading some of this there seem to be 17 or 19 plants where work on upgrading and/or rebuilding or whatever to improve the quality of fuel in Mexico. It would seem by the dates of these articles that some of these projects are currently under construction with completion expected in 2018. Some forum visitors may want to continue to search for more information about all of this as it is not difficult to find this stuff online.


http://www.hydrocarbons-technology.com/news/newsica-fluor-secures-1bn-contract-for-madero-refinery-in-mexico-4783351



ICA Fluor secures $1bn contract for Madero refinery in Mexico

13 January 2016

Mexico-based Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has awarded a $1bn contract to Fluor's unit ICA Fluor for construction of a hydrodesulfurisation (HDS) plant at the Francisco I. Madero refinery in Tamaulipas.


ICA Fluor will proceed with the engineering, procurement and construction of the plant as part of the second phase of Mexico's Madero Clean Diesel project at the 190,000-b/d refinery.


Under the contract, the company will also provide commissioning and start-up services for two hydrodesulfurization trains with 25,000-barrel-per-day diesel capacity as well as associated facilities.


"Fluor and ICA Fluor remain fully committed to Pemex and our other clients in the Mexican market."


New hydrogen, sulfur recovery and sour water treatment plants will be installed as part of the project in addition to renovating the existing diesel hydrodesulfurisation unit, and offsites and utilities in order to integrate the new production facility with the existing refinery.


The project, which is part of Pemex's clean fuels programme, is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2018.


It has been designed to increase the country's production of ultra-low sulfur diesel in accordance with environmental standards.


Fluor chief operating officer Peter Oosterveer said: "We are very pleased with the performance of ICA Fluor, and this award by Pemex demonstrates the trust and confidence in our joint venture to successfully execute this very significant clean fuels project at the Madero refinery.


"Fluor and ICA Fluor remain fully committed to Pemex and our other clients in the Mexican market."



http://www.ogj.com/articles/2015/12/pemex-lets-contract-for-salamanca-refinery.html


Pemex lets contract for Salamanca refinery
HOUSTON, Dec. 21
12/21/2015
ByRobert Brelsford
OGJ Downstream Technology Editor

Pemex Transformacion Industrial (formerly Pemex Refinacion), the newly created fuel processing subsidiary of Mexico’s state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), has let a contract to Samsung Engineering Co. Ltd., Seoul, for work related to the second phase of the country’s ultralow-sulfur diesel (ULSD) project at the Antonio M. Amor refinery in Salamanca, Guanajuato, about 250 km northwest of Mexico City.

As part of the $552-million contract, Samsung Engineering will deliver engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning for a 38,000-b/sd hydrodesulfurization (HDS) unit, a 5,000-b/sd sour water stripper, and the revamp of three existing HDS units with a total capacity of 53,000 b/sd, the service provider said.
This latest contract for the second phase of the Salamanca program follows Pemex’s $80-million contract award last year to Samsung Engineering for detailed engineering and procurement of long-lead items for the project’s first phase, which was completed during September (OGJ Online, Feb. 18, 2015; Sept. 17, 2014).

Samsung Engineering said it expects to complete the Salamanca ULSD project in its entirety during third-quarter 2018.

Earlier in the month, Pemex said it would spend a total of $3.9 billion to build 19 plants and modernize 17 existing units at all six of its Mexican refineries as part of its nationwide ULSD program in an effort to help reduce the country’s need for ULSD imports (OGJ Online, Dec. 9, 2015; Sept. 15, 2014).


http://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2015/12/pemex-contracts-samsung-to-upgrade-salamanca-refinery-to-low-sulfur-diesel


Pemex contracts Samsung to upgrade Salamanca refinery to low-sulfur diesel
12/21/2015

Samsung Engineering and Pemex have officially signed a $552-million contract for the second phase of a ULSD (ultra-low-sulfur diesel) project at the Antonio M. Amor refinery in Salamanca, Guanajuato State, Mexico.


Emilio Lozoya Austin, the general director of Pemex, and Samsung Engineering's managing director in Mexico celebrated the contract award in an official ceremony at the Pemex offices in Mexico City, Mexico.


The project site is located 250 kilometers northwest of the capital Mexico City, and Samsung Engineering will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning.


The refinery plant scope includes a new HDS (hydro desulfurization) unit with a capacity of 38,000 bpd, a SWS (sour water stripper) unit with a capacity of 5,000 bpd and the revamping of three existing HDS units, with a total capacity of 53,000 bpd.


The entire Salamanca ULSD project is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2018.


Samsung Engineering had signed the first phase of the two-phased project in 2014. This Phase II award is the consequence of completing Phase I to the client’s full satisfaction, which was executed on an OBCE (open book cost estimation) basis, including detail engineering and procurement of long-lead items.


“We have successfully delivered several projects for Pemex in the past," said Choong Heum Park, president and CEO of Samsung Engineering. "This contract award is not only a result from our unmatched project execution capabilities and proven experience in the Mexican market, but also from the mutual trust we built with the client over many years. Samsung Engineering hopes to continue strengthening a long-term partnership with Pemex.”


The Salamanca ULSD project is the fourth refinery contract awarded to Samsung Engineering by Pemex, having already completed projects at the Tula refinery, the Minatitlan refinery and a naphtha HDS (hydro desulfurization) project at the same Salamanca refinery.


http://www.ogj.com/articles/2014/10/details-emerge-on-pemex-s-salina-cruz-refinery-upgrade.html

Details emerge on Pemex’s Salina Cruz refinery upgrade
HOUSTON, Oct. 14
10/14/2014
ByOGJ editors

Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has let a contract to a subsidiary of Foster Wheeler AG’s global engineering and construction group for work related to an ultralow-sulfur diesel (ULSD) project at its Antonio Dovali Jaime refinery in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca.

The ULSD project at Salina Cruz, to be executed in joint venture with Mexican construction company Arendal, Monterrey, will include a major revamp of four diesel hydrodesulfurization units; the installation of units for hydrogen production, sulfur recovery, and sour water stripping; and extensive upgrades to the utilities and offsite installations, Foster Wheeler said.

Foster Wheeler’s scope of work, which also includes start-up and testing, is scheduled to be completed in 2018, the company said.
While Foster Wheeler did not disclose the precise value of the contract, Pemex previously announced its value at $584 million (OGJ Online, Sept. 15, 2014).

The Salina Cruz refinery upgrade is part of the diesel phase of Pemex’s recently announced fuel quality project, which involves a $2.8 billion investment into increasing ULSD production at five of Mexico’s refineries following the country’s recent energy reform (OGJ Online, Aug. 21, 2014; Aug. 18, 2014).

Designed to improve the qualities of air and fuels, the fuel quality project involves the construction of new and modernization of existing plants to reduce the sulfur content of Mexico’s diesel production to 15 ppm from 500 ppm, which will lower the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than 12,000 tpy, according to Emillio Lozoya Austin, Pemex’s chief executive officer.

In addition to the, Pemex also let contracts for work related to the fuel quality project to:
• Tecnicas Reunidas ($568 million) for the Lazaro Cardenas refinery near Minatitlan in Veracruz state.
• ICA Flour Daniel ($737 million) for the Francisco I. Madero refinery in Madero, Tamaulipas.
• Samsung Engineering Co. Ltd. ($359 million) for the Antonio M. Amor refinery in Salamanca, Guanajuato.
• ACS Group ($560 million) for the Miguel Hidalgo refinery in Tula, Hidalgo.


http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20141014005188/en/Foster-Wheeler-Awarded-Engineering-Procurement-Construction-Contract

Foster Wheeler Awarded Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contract by PEMEX for Clean Fuels Project at Salina Cruz
October 14, 2014 07:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

ZUG, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Foster Wheeler AG (NASDAQ:FWLT) announced today that a subsidiary of its Global Engineering and Construction Group has been awarded a contract by PEMEX REFINACIÓN for an ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) project at the Salina Cruz refinery, Oaxaca, Mexico. 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 US$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.


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, sulphur 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. 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. 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,” said Roberto Penno, Chief Executive Officer, Global Engineering and Construction Group, Foster Wheeler.


Foster Wheeler AG is a global engineering and construction company and power equipment supplier delivering technically advanced, reliable facilities and equipment. The company employs approximately 13,000 talented professionals with specialized expertise dedicated to serving its clients through one of its two primary business groups. The company’s Global Engineering and Construction Group designs and constructs leading-edge processing facilities for the upstream oil and gas, LNG and gas-to-liquids, refining, chemicals and petrochemicals, power, minerals and metals, environmental, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and healthcare industries. The company’s Global Power Group is a world leader in combustion and steam generation technology that designs, manufactures and erects steam generating and auxiliary equipment for power stations and industrial facilities and also provides a wide range of aftermarket services. The company is based in Zug, Switzerland, and its operational headquarters office is in Reading, United Kingdom. For more information about Foster Wheeler, please visit our website at www.fwc.com.

Eventually Mexico will have to produce ULSD. But when is another thing. The existing refineries are ancient and suffer from a lack of maintenance ( I am not surprised). Pemex does not have the bucks nor is there much political will to do anything. Mexico did sign on about 5 years ago at some International symposium to produce and sell only ULSD. Maybe with the all the changes at Pemex we will see ULSD soon. Not to please Tourists but to prevent pollution in a country that is decades behind when it comes to the environment.

Moisheh

Back last February Moiseh posted a link to an article about ULSD. I did some very limited research. It does appear that at least some of these projects are ongoing and contracts have been let and money paid to contractors. More can probably be found online by searching various contractor websites and probably for info about the specific refinery locations. Here are some possible ideas.



https://forums.trailerlife.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28768766/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1.cfm


http://www.ogj.com/articles/2014/09/pemex-advances-diesel-program-at-mexican-refineries.html


Pemex advances diesel program at Mexican refineries
HOUSTON, Sept. 15
09/15/2014
ByOGJ editors

Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has let a contract to Spain’s Técnicas Reunidas to execute an ultralow-sulfur diesel project at its Lazaro Cardenas refinery near Minatitlan in Veracruz state.


The contract includes engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning of three new refining units, including a 30,000-b/d diesel hydrodesulfurization unit, a 25 Mcfd hydrogen production plant, and a 150,000-tonnes/year (tpy) sulfur recovery plant, Técnicas Reunidas said on Sept. 15.


Técnicas Reunidas also will provide modifications to an existing hydrodesulfurization unit as well as the integration of the installations beyond the battery limits for these plants, the company said.


The contract, which was awarded under the open-book convertible lump-sum method, will be implemented in two phases, according to Técnicas Reunidas.


At a cost of $50 million, the first phase, which includes the execution of a basic design, a detailed estimation of the investment cost, and the purchase of long-term delivery equipment, will take about 12 months.


The second phase of project implementation, at a cost of more than $500 million under the turnkey model, will include detailed engineering, procurement of equipment and materials, construction, and commissioning scheduled to last about 27 months, Técnicas Reunidas said.


The contract award is part of the diesel phase of Pemex’s recently announced fuel quality project, which involves a $2.8 billion investment into increasing ultralow-sulfur diesel production at five of Mexico’s refineries, according to a Sept. 11 release from Pemex.


Designed to improve the qualities of air and fuels, the fuel quality project will involve the construction of new and modernization of existing plants to reduce the sulfur content of Mexico’s diesel production to 15 ppm from 500 ppm, which will lower the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than 12,000 tpy, said Emillio Lozoya Austin, Pemex’s chief executive officer.


In addition to the total $568 million contract awarded to Técnicas Reunidas for the Minatitlan refinery, Pemex also let contracts for work related to the fuel quality project to:


•ICA Fluor Daniel ($737 million) for the Francisco I. Madero refinery in Madero, Tamaulipas.


•Samsung Engineering Co. Ltd. ($359 million) for the Antonio M. Amor refinery in Salamanca, Guanajuato.


•Foster Wheeler USA Corp. ($584 million) for the Antonio Dovalí Jaime refinery in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca.


•ACS Group ($560 million) for the Miguel Hidalgo refinery in Tula, Hidalgo.


The fuel quality project comes as part of Pemex’s efforts to become a leader in the oil industry following Mexico’s recent energy reform, Lozoya said (OGJ Online, Aug. 21, 2014; Aug. 18, 2014).



http://www.tecnicasreunidas.es/en/buscadorGeneral.do?tiposBusqueda=C%7CM%7CD%7CN%7CH%7CP%7CE&textoBusqueda=PEMEX&tipoActivo=H

[09/15/2014] Pemex Refinación awards TR a new project at the Minatitlan Refinery

[03/17/2016] Pemex awards TR a new project at the Minatitlan Refinery


http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/ica-fluor-s-de-rl-de-cv-ica-fluor

ICA-Fluor Daniel, S. de R.L. de C.V. (ICA Fluor) is a JV formed between Mexican engineering construction group ICA and Texas-based EPCM company Fluor Corp. The company is engaged in the engineering, procurement and construction of chemical, petrochemical and cement plants; power plants; telecom installations; and refineries. ICA Fluor is currently planning on building a US$1.3bn coker plant at the Miguel Hidalgo refinery in Tula, Hidalgo state. It will provide engineering, procurement and construction services. The refinery will produce 173,000b/d of ultra-low-sulfur gasoline, 104,000b/d of diesel and 21,000/d of kerosene, increasing national supply by 100,000b/d. In addition, the company is building the Los Ramones II South natural gas pipeline, a section that runs between the northern Mexican states of San Luis Potosí and Guanajuato. The 291km pipeline is due to deliver 39.6Mm3/d when completed in 4Q15.


https://www.ica.com.mx/es_ES/web/ica/ica-fluor