Crude Oil for processing by Petrojam is purchased under the San Jose Accord from Venezuela and Mexico and the Caracas Agreement with Venezuela. In addition, some crude oil is purchased from third party suppliers, as the refinery diversifies sources to take advantage of lower cost crude.

Process

The hydroskimming refinery was designed to operate with a high level of heat integration between process streams and with high temperature streams providing heat to process at lower temperatures. All products are line blended into finished product tankage.

Crude oil is processed through a single-stage atmospheric pipe-still producing an overhead naphta cut, kerosene and gas oil sidestream cuts and bottoms at 650 degrees F. Variation of sidestream cut points produces kerosene or aviation fuel and auto diesel or marine diesel in blocked operations. The naphta cut is de-ethanised, de-butanised and split with light and heavy virgin naphthas to blend motor gasonline, while heavy virgin naphtha is also blended to middle distillates and heavy fuel oil (HFO). Light end fractionalisation splits into propane and butane, liquefied petroleum gases, (LPG) and butane for gasoline blending.

The kerosene sidestream is hydrofined and run down to tankage as dual purpose kero/turbo fuel. Auto diesel oil is produced by blending a part, or all of the kerosene sidestream. However, as a heavier cut it may also be run down directly to tankage as marine diesel oil.

Atmospheric Pipestill bottom is blended with gas oil, kero and/or heavy virgin naphta to produce Bunker C fuel oil. The vacuum Pipestill produces two grades of penetration asphalt.