Oil & Gas Journal's semiannual Worldwide Construction Update shows a slight increase in refining and petrochemical construction activity compared with the previous edition of the update (OGJ, Apr. 7, 2008, p. 24). Following are project details from the survey available online (see box).

Refining

Mariisky NPZ Ltd. awarded a contract to Foster Wheeler Italiana SPA, Milan, for the expansion of the Mari-El refinery's capacity to 90,000 b/sd from 27,000 b/sd. Foster Wheeler will define the design basis, undertake the basic design package for nonlicensed process units, utilities and offsites, and front-end engineering design for the project. Mariisky plans to install a train, which will include crude and vacuum distillation units, hydrocracking, hydrodesulfurization, amine and sulfur recovery units, a solvent deasphalting unit, a hydrogen production unit, and sour water stripping facilities, according to Foster Wheeler. The project is scheduled for start-up in 2012.

On Aug. 13, Valero Energy Corp. broke ground on a $2.4 billion expansion project at its 325,000-b/d refinery in Port Arthur, Tex. The project, which includes the construction of a 50,000-b/d hydrocracker and 45,000-b/d coker, will increase the refinery's crude distillation capacity to 415,000 b/d. The expansion is the company's largest-ever capital investment project. Valero expects the hydrocracker project to be completed in fourth-quarter 2010 and the coker project to finish in second-quarter 2011. Contracts were awarded to Fluor Corp. for the hydrocracker project (OGJ Online, Aug. 7, 2008) and Technip for two processing units-a saturate gas recovery unit and an amine treating unit-and offsites work associated with the refinery expansion.

A coker and refinery expansion project at the Wood River, Ill., refinery, a 50-50 joint venture of EnCana Corp. and ConocoPhillips, began in September, says EnCana. The $3.6 billion project includes a 65,000-b/d coker to enable the refinery to process heavier crudes, increase total crude distillation capacity by 50,000 b/d to 356,000 b/d, more than double heavy crude refining capacity to 240,000 b/d, increase clean-product yield to 330,000 b/d from 250,000 b/d, and eliminate 40,000 b/d of low-value asphalt production. The project will be operational in 2011.

In October, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) began construction of the 100,000-b/d Santa Ines refinery, in Barinas state (OGJ Online, Oct. 13, 2008). The $1.2 billion complex is being developed in two phases: the first is scheduled for completion in 2011 with an initial capacity of 30,000 b/d, while the second will be reached in 2014, bringing the plant to full capacity. The facility will refine oil from Barinas and Apure states, as well as oil from the Orinoco heavy crude belt. It will produce regular and high-octane gasoline, LPG, diesel, kerosine, fuel oil, and asphalt. Santa Ines is one of four domestic refineries either under way or planned. The others include the 50,000-b/d Caripito refinery, a 200,000-b/d refinery in the state of Zulia, and a 400,000-b/d refinery at Cabruta.

Meanwhile, Petrovietnam awarded Foster Wheeler a contract to design the 200,000-b/d Nghi Son refinery and petrochemical project (OGJ Online, July 22,2008). The refinery is expected to meet 60% of Vietnam's domestic demand for gasoline and other products. The Nghi Son project will import oil from Kuwait to produce high-quality products and is scheduled for completion in 2013.

Petrochemical

S-Oil Corp. selected Axens' ParamaX Technology Suite for the No. 2 Aromatics complex at the Onsan refinery in South Korea. The 1.18 million tonne/ year (tpy) plant will add capacities of 900,000 tpy paraxylene and 280,000 tpy benzene.