Puerto La Cruz. – The project to expand the Puerto La Cruz Refinery, called Deep Conversion, will allow the storage capacity of the eastern refining center to increase by one million 210 thousand barrels, with the construction of a new Tankyard for the storage of products Refined products resulting from the commercial application of the Venezuelan technology HDHPLUS, which will be released in 2019.

The manufacture of the new tank belonging to Unit 98 of the Deep Conversion Project contemplates the manufacture of 16 new tanks corresponding to two spheres of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) with capacity to store 20 thousand barrels (MB) each; Four 150-MB diesel tanks; Three 65 MB tanks for liquid sulfur; Five 25 MB tanks for Slop; A tank of 150 MB for residual and another of 100 MB for naphtha.

This work will increase in the year 2019, the current volume of the Eastern refining center estimated at 13.7 million barrels. The construction of the new tank system runs on six areas belonging to the current refinery and areas Macotal The Chaure whose overall progress exceeds 34%.

In order to optimize the current tank yard and ensure PDVSA’s operational reliability in the eastern region, the upgrading of 35 tanks is carried out through early work planning (called early work 16), which will allow 19 tanks to change from Service and 16 maintain their current use.

In addition, the production of two tanks belonging to Unit 84 for the Despojamiento of Aguas Arias, whose capacity will be 150 MB each, is anticipated; Which recorded an increase of more than 67%.

The arduous work of 405 men and women working in the tank area will allow the successful assembly of 53 rings that will form 18 new tanks that are currently built Calculated on 240 tonnes of reinforcing steel and 500 thousand inches of welds.

All these works, to date, exceed 456 thousand 150 hours work since the start of the same, in April 2015.

This constructive advance in the Deep Conversion Project demonstrates the commitment of a multidisciplinary team that works tirelessly in the construction of the new process units that will allow the valorization of the heavy oil of the Orinoco Oil Belt Hugo Chavez.