Pemex nitrogen separation to have 630mcf/d capacity

The US$150mn nitrogen separation plant that Mexico's state oil company Pemex will build at Ciudad Pemex in Tabasco state will process up to 630 million cubic feet a day (mcf/d) of associated gas extracted from the Cantarell oilfield, the company said in a statement Monday. In November Pemex awarded a US$151mn contract to Techint CimiMontubi, the local subsidiary of Italian-Argentine company Techint, for the engineering, procurement and construction of the plant. The facility will reduce nitrogen content in gas from up to 19.1% to 1.2%, and will employ technology patented by British company Costain, which will give technical advice during and after construction, Pemex said. The plant is expected to save Pemex some US$1.5mn a year through greater hydrocarbon recovery, and is scheduled to start operations in December 2006.