Suriname state oil company Staatsolie Maatschappij will undertake a major maintenance operation at its Tout Lui Faut Refinery, located 20km south of Paramaribo in February that will see the facility shutting down for 40 days.
All production units with their associated machines and equipment will receive complete maintenance as part of a service schedule expected to be carried out every four years.
The maintenance or Turnaround (TA) means that all units are taken out of operation, cleaned and checked for defects and/ or wear. The purpose of these activities is to guarantee the reliability and safe operation of the refinery for the next four years, Staatsolie said in a recent publication.
Ten companies from Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, North America and Europe expressed interest in undertaking the activity. Italian Irem Spa met all requirements and was eligible for the main contract for the TA. This company was also involved in the expansion of the refinery in 2013. Irem is also familiar with Staatsolie’s safety policy. The company will have to ensure that all physical preparation, up to the delivery of the refinery takes place safely and within the set budget, while the TA department steering group is in control.
Staatsolie and Irem signed the declaration of intent in March 2019.
Staatsolie said it is estimated that more than 600 employees will be present at the refinery every day during maintenance.
At the close of 2015, Staatsolie completed a long-planned major expansion and efficiency project to double crude processing capacity and expand fuel production at the refining complex. Designed to reduce Suriname’s dependence on imported fuel products, the expansion took more than 10 years to complete from prefeasibility studies, which began in 2004, to its December 2015 startup.
