Staatsolie, the Suriname state owned oil company, recently completed an expansion of the Tout Lui Faut refining complex. The process began more than 10 years ago when the expansion of the refinery was first designed and conceptualised. The project looked at boosting production capacity for crude oil and expanding the number of refined products. The expansion has doubled the refining capacity of crude oil from 7,000 bpd to 15,000 bpd. The facility also now produces premium diesel and premium gasoline.
Daily production of gasoline at the Staatsolie-run facility before the expansion, covered approximately 30% of local demand – 1,300 barrels of gasoline. By 2017, gasoline production will be up to 2,000 barrels per day (b/p) and will cover about 50% of local demand. The growth of the demand far exceeded what was needed at the time and current demand stands at approximately 4,500 barrels of gasoline per day. Even though there is a shortfall in gasoline production, the aim of the refinery expansion has been to reduce the imports of oil from foreign fuels. The refinery has now reduced the import of foreign fuels by about $100m/year.
The output of the refinery for diesel, however, is about 6000 barrels per day. The production meets the local demand with some surplus which is exported within the region to Trinidad and Tobago and the Cayman Islands. The refinery also now produces • Ultralow-sulfur diesel, 8,000 b/d. • Ultralow-sulfur gasoline, 2,500 b/d. • Fuel oil, 6,000 b/d. • Bitumen, 100 b/d. • Sulfuric acid, 100 b/d.