Venezuela state-owned oil firm PDVSA expects by the end of the year to start operating a US$ 200 million seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant to provide water for oil refineries on the Paraguaná peninsula and drinking water for local communities.
The 70,000 m³per day plant will provide 55,000 m³/d to the vast Refinery Centre Paraguaná (CRP) for steam production. The rest will be supplied to the utility, Hidrofalcon, to meet the needs of the communities of the Paraguaná peninsula.
The plant is expected to Increase the operational reliability of the CRP – the world’s second largest refinery complex accouting for 71% of Venezuela’s refining capacity. It is expected also to improve the security of drinking water supply in the region which is susceptible to droughts and where the population and economy is growing.
The desalination facility will be Venezuela’s biggest and one of Latin America’s largest. Spanish desalination plant design, construction, and operation company, Acciona Agua, is leading the CRP project.
The CRP refinery complex is located in Falcón state (Amuay and Cardón refineries) and the western coast of Lake Maracaibo in the Zulia state (Bajo Grande refinery).