SAUDI Aramco Mobil Refinery Company Limited (Samref) recently achieved a safety record of 40 million work-hours without any injuries requiring employees or contractors to miss work. This pace-setting safety performance for more than 10,000 workers coincided with the completion of two significant milestones: a full refinery shut-down and turnaround, and the startup of the first phase of a multi-billion dollar project begun in 2011 to reduce the sulfur content in motor gasoline and diesel fuel.
“Samref is extremely proud of the commitment of our people to excellence in safe operations,” said Suleman A. Al-Bargan, president and chief executive officer at Samref. “Safety is always our number one objective. To achieve this safety performance while constructing a refinery project of this significance to the future of Saudi Arabia requires constant concentration and diligent attention to detail.”
In addition to the safety achievement, the refinery has successfully completed the first phase of the Clean Fuels Project, a major environmental project for Saudi Arabia. The project will reduce the sulfur levels in gasoline and diesel by more than 98 percent, to 10 parts per million (ppm), to meet coming fuels specification regulations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ultra-low sulfur fuels, when powering the latest technology engines on tractor-trailers, buses, marine vessels and off-road equipment, lead to improved air quality.
As the largest investment in Samref’s history, the project demonstrates the support of the Kingdom and the joint venture partners, Saudi Arabian Oil Company and Mobil Yanbu Refining Company. The project will strengthen the refinery’s competitive position for years to come by producing world-class fuels to meet growing demand.
The project involves significant modifications to the refinery including new hydrotreating and sulfur recovery facilities with a phased start up through early 2014. Phase one included modifications and tie-ins to the existing refinery units and a step down in the diesel sulfur to 500 ppm. — SG
