14:55 | Lima, May 24 (ANDINA).
Peru will save approximately $460 million a year in health care costs once the modernization of the Talara refinery in Piura is completed, Peru's state-owned Petroleos del Peru, or Petroperu, said Thursday.
Petroperu underlined that one of the goals of the Talara Refinery Modernization Project (PMRT) is to reduce sulfur in diesel fuel to 50 parts per million from 1800 parts per million now.
This will substantially improve air quality in all regions of the country, which in turn will reduce the incidence of diseases caused by air pollution, Petroperu said.
On Wednesday, Petroperu signed a contract with Societe Generale to provide financial structuring services for the modernization of the Talara refinery.
Petroperu said in a statement that Societe Generale will analyze, evaluate and design the financial framework for the project.
Societe Generale will also carry out due diligence to determine the exact cost of the modernization, which is currently estimated at $1.7 billion.
Societe Generale will receive a commission equivalent to a minimum of 0.25% of the loan amount collected in Peru and up to 0.50% of the financing from abroad, Petroperu said.
The upgrade is aimed at reducing levels of sulfur and allowing the refinery to refine the heavy crude that will be extracted in the future in northern Peru, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
Petroperu wants to increase oil production at Talara from a capacity of 65,000 barrels a day to 95,000 barrels a day.
(END) AQR/JPC/EEP
Published: 5/24/2012