The energy and mines ministry issued DS 003-2023, which allows refining facilities, such as the Talara refinery, to operate for up to 18 months while they obtain the necessary permits. Here we tell you the scope of this standard.
In the last few hours, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem) issued Supreme Decree No. 003-2023-EM: “They dictate measures that ensure the operation of hydrocarbon refining and processing facilities to optimize energy security”. The device bears the signature of the holder of the portfolio, Óscar Vera Gargurevich, and also that of the President of the Republic, Dina Boluarte.
The regulation provides that the holders in charge of hydrocarbon refining or processing facilities that, on the effective date of the regulation, are in the process of commissioning, may operate such facilities for up to a maximum period of 18 months. This period is counted from the validity of this standard while obtaining the qualifying titles, approval of reports, opinions, obtaining records, certificates and other permits necessary for the use of such facilities.
DS 003-2023-EM adds that, during said period, the integral operations of the aforementioned facilities continue uninterruptedly, The scope of functions of the Supervisory Agency for Investment in Energy and Mining (Osinergmin) is limited to monitoring the obtaining of permits and approval of reports required for the use of the facilities.
New Talara Refinery
Seven refineries operate in the country: La Pampilla (Ventanilla, Callao), operated by Repsol SA, and Shiviyacu Refinery (Loreto), operated by Pluspetrol Perú Corporation SA The rest of the processing units (distributed throughout the country) are operated by the Petroperu state. Thus, we have the Conchán Refinery (Lurín), Iquitos Refinery (Loreto), El Milagro Refinery (Amazonas), Pucallpa Refinery (Ucayali) and the New Talara Refinery (Piura).
Of all the aforementioned refineries, it is the refinery located in the oil capital of Peru that is in a progressive start-up process, which will go from processing 65,000 barrels of fuel to 95,000 barrels per day.
In this regard, the Vice Minister of Hydrocarbons of Minem, Enrique Bisetti, recalled that the New Talara Refinery is not only the only refinery that is currently in a stage of “starting up” its various process units and instruments, but also It is the only energy megaproject that is being developed in the country.
In that sense, ruled out that DS 003-2023-EM is a degradation of the standardssince, on the contrary, at the same time that the refinery is turned on, work is being done in parallel on the upgrade of the standards.
“No control system is being relaxed here, what is being facilitated is the progressive start of the work, because we are not going to wait to finish building it and start testing the equipment, which could take us one or two years,” remarked Vice Minister Bisetti in dialogue with The Republic.
The Minem official acknowledged that the personnel that oversees and supervises have not been prepared for a level review of what this construction represents. “So, work is being done on the progressive start-up of this refinery, which are 16 processes that, in turn, involve thousands of instruments and equipment that must be certified and tested by licensees, builders and Petroperú,” he stressed.
The New Talara Refinery It is a specialized high-tech deep conversion plant that has never been developed in the country. In this way, it ranks among the eight most modern in the world and in the region there is none like it; Therefore, the Minem asserts, the conditions and regulations, much less the standards, have not been adequate to the magnitude of this work.
Likewise, Bisetti ruled out that the aforementioned DS prevents Osinergmin from supervising the New Talara Refinery. “On the contrary, we are helping to supervise them due to the complexity of the issue. They can enter at any time to see how things are progressing. The meaning of the regulation is to facilitate the path to start-up of this refinery”, he stated.
Finally, the Vice Minister of Hydrocarbons added that so far the rule has not been challenged by refining specialists or technicians from the oil sector or by the supervisor Osinergmin himself.
Production of the New Talara Refinery
Less than a week ago, Petroperú revealed that it has already started the production of low sulfur diesel (with less than 50 ppm) after completing the guarantee tests of the Diesel Hydrotreatment Unit (HTD) of the New Talara Refinery.
This way, throughout February and March, they will be producing 30,000 barrels per day of B5 biodiesel and, gradually, it is expected to reach the threshold of 41,000 bpd.
Said HTD plant is one of the three new hydrotreatment units that the Talara refinery has, which already has its Primary Distillation Unit, the Vacuum Distillation Unit, the Hydrogen Production and Purification Unit, the Nitrogen Plant , the naphtha and diesel Hydrotreatment units, the cooling and fire fighting systems, among others.
Source: Larepublica
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