Control system for new ultra-low-sulphur diesel fuel plant in Mexico!

Yokogawa de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. has received an order from Cobra Instalaciones Mexico S.A. de C.V., a subsidiary of the Spanish EPC firm ACS, to supply an integrated control and safety instrumented system solution for an ultra-low-sulphur diesel fuel plant that is being built for PEMEX Refinación, a subsidiary of Mexico's national oil company, PEMEX.

To reduce air pollution caused by emissions of sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter, PEMEX is promoting the use of low-suphur diesel fuel and gasoline. This project involves the construction of an ultra-low-sulphur diesel fuel plant at the PEMEX Cadereyta refinery complex, which is located in Nuevo León state in northeastern Mexico. The new plant will produce ultra-low-sulphur diesel fuel from naphtha purified at the Cadereyta refinery. This facility will have the capacity to produce 35,000 barrels per day of this desulphurised fuel, and is scheduled to come on line in the first half of 2017.

For the monitoring and control of this plant's hydrodesulphurisation unit and sulphur recovery unit, Yokogawa will deliver the CENTUM® VP integrated production control system, the STARDOM® network-based control system, the ProSafe(R)-RS safety instrumented system for shutting down the plant under abnormal conditions, the Exaquantum™ plant information management system and other solution-based software packages, the GC800 process gas chromatograph for analysing gas composition, and a variety of field instruments for flow measurement. Yokogawa de Mexico will be responsible for installation and engineering, and will also provide support with commissioning and the training of plant operators. Installation of these systems and products is scheduled to be completed by the first half of 2015.

Mexico is rich in oil and natural gas resources, and recently has confirmed the presence of shale oil and gas deposits. Investments by companies in the private sector, including overseas-based enterprises, for the development of Mexico's oil and gas resources are expected to be approved, and investment in this field is expected to increase. And, in line with the rising awareness around the world of the need to protect the environment, an increase in demand for sulphur removal facilities, particularly in developing nations, is foreseen. Yokogawa anticipates continued growth in the Mexican control systems business, and will aggressively pursue additional control system orders for sulphur removal facilities that contribute to preventing air pollution and thereby help to protect the environment.