USFilter to Supply Filtration Systems for Large Venezuelan Project

USFilter will supply filtration and demineralization equipment for Petrolera Ameriven’s Hamaca Crude Upgrader Project in eastern Venezuela. Petrolera Ameriven is a joint operating company comprised of Texaco Inc., Phillips Petroleum Company, and Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA).

USFilter will provide a reverse osmosis (RO) demineralization system, amine sump condensate/water granular activated carbon, cooling tower filters, and granular activated carbon canisters, to be installed at the Jose, Venezuela refinery in March 2002. The RO system will reduce minerals in the water to prevent scaling, carbon filters will remove hydrocarbons, and multimedia vessels will filter out solids. The contract is valued at approximately $3 million.

The contract engineering firm for the Hamaca project is Grupo Alvica, LLC, a joint venture between Fluor Daniel Corporation and Inelectra.

Bill Himebaugh, USFilter’s Western Region account manager for the Hamaca Crude Upgrader Project said, "USFilter is excited to work with these industry leaders on such a significant project. Some of the top names in the oil and gas industry use our equipment. USFilter looks forward to helping Grupo Alvica make the Hamaca project a showcase for the industry."

With a total estimated value of $3.5 billion, the Hamaca Crude Upgrader Project entails transporting heavy crude from Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt 140 miles north to the Caribbean coastal Jose Industrial Complex, currently under construction. The upgrading site will then produce 170 million barrels per day of a medium-gravity, synthetic crude, with a gravity of about 26 degrees API. The high value oil will then be exported internationally, beginning in early 2004.

Source: USFilter