The National Refinery System

SALINA CRUZ

Located on the southern Pacific coast of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in the state of Oaxaca, the Salina Cruz Refinery (also known as the Antonio Dovalí Jaime Refinery) possesses a processing capacity of around 330,000 b/d. The refinery provides combustibles to the entire southern region of Mexico. In 2010, PEMEX completed maintenance work at the refinery, and in 2012 embarked on a project to use natural gas instead of petcoke to power various refining activities, which would earn the company carbon credits worth nearly US$2.2 million per year. The refinery processed an approximate average of 282,400b/d in 2013, which represented a 98.6% of its expected processing target of 286,300b/d and a 10% increase over its 2012 processing average of 256,700b/d.

SALAMANCA

The Salamanca Refinery, located in the central state of Guanajuato and also referred to as the Ing. Antonio M. Amor Refinery, supplies the center and east of Mexico with refined products based on its processing capacity of 245,000 b/d. A refinery upgrade project was started in 2012, which will increase its capacity to refine heavy crude, and is expected to be finished by 2015. The refinery processed an approximate average of 194,500b/d in 2013, which represented a laudable 105.7% of its expected processing target of 184,000b/d and a 8.5% increase over its 2012 processing of 179,200b/d. Major repair operations planned for 2013 were delayed.

TULA

Located approximately north of Mexico City in the state of Hidalgo, the Tula or Miguel Hidalgo refinery is the main supplier of fuel to Mexico’s capital. It currently has a processing capacity of 315,000 b/d, although that capacity is scheduled to increase in years to come. In 2010, Saipem was awarded a US$800 million EPC contract for the installation of two desulphurization units and two amine regeneration units. The refinery processed an approximate average of 245,800b/d in 2013, which represented 86% of its expected processing target of 285,800b/d. Furthermore, Tula was the only refinery in the national system whose output decreased when compared to 2012, when processing reached 277,300b/d. The difference in results between 2012 and 2013 represents an 11.4% decrease that was partly caused by corrective maintenance operations, delays in major repair operations, and delays in PEMEX’s plans to build a new refinery next to Tula.

CADEREYTA

The Cadereyta Refinery, also called as the Ing. Héctor R. Lara Sosa Refinery, is located in the northern state of Nuevo Leon and is responsible for supplying fuel to the north of Mexico. The refinery currently has a capacity of around 275,000 b/d of crude according to PEMEX figures. In 2009, ICA Fluor was awarded an EPC contract for the upgrade of the refinery, including a 42,500 b/d catalytic distillation train. The refinery processed an average of 188,800b/d in 2013, which represented 94.7% of its expected processing target of 199,300b/d and a 0.6% increase over its 2012 processing average of 187,700b/d. These processing figures were affected by crude supply issues during May 2013.

CIUDAD MADERO

The Ciudad Madero Refinery, otherwise referred to as the Francisco I. Madero Refinery, is located in the northern state of Tamaulipas and is responsible for supplying fuel to the central and Gulf regions of Mexico. The Madero refinery currently has a processing capacity of around 190,000 b/d of crude oil. ICA Fluor won the contract for the upgrade of the Madero refinery in 2009, which was scheduled to be finished in 2013 but will now be completed by 2014 as part of a larger investment plan that is expected to be concluded by 2017. Corrective maintenance operations and crude supply issues also affected its 2013 average output of 129,800b/d, which represented 85.5% of its 151,900b/d processing target, which is the lowest percentage of expectations met for 2013 in the entire refinery system. However, it also represented a 1.6% increase over its 127,800b/d processing average of 2012.

MINATITLÁN

Located in the state of Veracruz, the Minatitlán or General Lázaro Cárdenas Refinery supplies the south of the country and the Yucatán Peninsula. It has a processing capacity of 185,000 b/d. An upgrade was completed at the refinery in 2011, which currently processes a mix of Isthmus and Maya crude, while corrective maintenance operations were also executed in 2013. The refinery processed an approximate average of 182,800b/d in 2013, which represented 88.5% of its expected processing target of 206,600b/d and a 7.2% increase over its 2012 processing average of 170,600b/d. Major repair operations scheduled for 2013 have so far been delayed.