Caribbean Refining - Grassroots Refinery

Historic Project: Groundbreaking Work From Earlier in Fluor’s History

Client: Caribbean Refining Co.

Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Business Segment: Energy Solutions

Industry: Fuels

Map showing the location of Caribbean Refining - Grassroots Refinery

Executive Summary

In the 1950s, Puerto Rico began emerging from a time when its economy was almost entirely based on sugar. Fluor was tasked with engineering and construction of the Caribbean commonwealth's first-ever oil refinery in a landmark engineering and construction contract signed with the Caribbean Refining Company.

Client's Challenge

Working in a recently industrialized area near the city of San Juan, we called upon our expertise building refineries across the globe. The refinery was designed to produce 10,000 barrels of oil a day.

Puerto Rico was attempting to jump-start its economy by offering tax incentives to outside businesses. While Fluor as a contractor was not eligible for the incentives, we saw the refinery as an opportunity to develop a presence with the people of Puerto Rico and with businesses active in the Commonwealth.

Fluor's Solution

The refinery was built at a cost of roughly $10 million and opened in 1955. The installation at the refinery included a crude unit, a fluid catalytic cracking and fractionation unit, a catalytic polymerizer and a gas concentration and treating and blending plant. Offsite, additional facilities included a tank farm, boilers and pipelines.

Conclusion

The refinery was built on time and operated with considerable success, becoming a marker for our ability to deliver the latest technological achievements to newly emergent parts of the world. The refinery also became a key component in Puerto Rico's public- and private-sector drive to promote industrial growth and economic opportunity throughout the Commonwealth.