Ervin Sean C.

Margate ChE 190

2014 – 06430 Technical Paper 1

A Day at the Petron Bataan Refinery

Brief Summary of the Tour

The Petron Bataan Refinery, situated at Limay, Bataan which is around 3 hours away from Metro Manila, is
considered as the largest and most modern oil refining and petrochemical complex in the country, processing crude
oil into a full range of petroleum products including gasoline, diesel, LPG, jet fuel, kerosene and industrial fuel oil. It
is also capable of producing petrochemical feedstocks of benzene, toluene, mixed xylene and propylene. Originally
named as Standard Vacuum Oil Company or Stanvac during the pre-World War II era, the oil refinery was further
developed and reconstructed after the world war and by 1961, the Petron Bataan refinery was officially inaugurated,
with a production capacity of about 25 000 barrels, or about 4 million L per day. Currently, supplying about 40% of
the country’s oil requirements, its refining capacity is about 180 000 barrels-per-day.
Upon arriving, PBR welcomed us into a large auditorium wherein the orientation occurred. There, we were
able to learn and understand the storied history of PBR, from its humble beginnings to it being one of the largest
and most successful conglomerates in the Philippines. We were also oriented with the different facilities, as well as
new and developing technologies in its operations. Afterwards, we went on to proceed with the riding tour and
travelled the plant, and marveled at the actual equipment being and unit processes that we see only in our books
come into reality.
Key Processes
Being a large scale producer of a wide range of petrochemicals, the chemical plants uses a variety of old
processes coupled with new and state of the art technologies to run the plant. As mentioned by our tour guide, the
plant utilizes different kinds of storage tanks, heat exchangers, fired heaters, flares, distillation columns, all present
in small and large sizes, almost the size of a coliseum. Also, it was mentioned that most of the off gases brought by
different processes are almost always flared or combusted before being released into the atmosphere. It was also
mentioned that the plant is currently developing more efficient and effective processes in lessening carbon dioxide
emissions by using recent carbon capture technology.
Operations of the Plant
As mentioned earlier, the current production rate or capacity of the plant is 180,000 barrels-per-day. The
plant runs 24 hours, 7 days a week except during holidays and other special company days. Despite its busy and
hectic production schedule, the company always provides leisure time to its employees as well as benefits to the
families of their workers, even setting up a school inside the plant itself for employees who wish to have their
children’s studies closer to their own job.
Their current HSE practices are also up to standard, being ISO certified in 3 different categories, and never
having a single large accident in the last decade. Due to their excellent practices, combined with the company’s
regard for its employees as well as its excellent track record in terms of production, it is expected that the Petron’s
success will continue for the years to come.
Engineers in the Plant
Different engineers coming from different backgrounds are working in the plant. Engineers in different
fields, such as chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical as well as industrial all work together inside the plant to ensure
safe working conditions and continuous operations of the plant. As observed during the plant visit, the engineers
especially our tour guides showed us extensive background knowledge as well as mastery of their profession through
their stories and experiences inside the plant. As for the role of chemical engineers, although it was not implicitly
said, the chemical engineers are the bosses and head of the production facilities, proving the necessity and central
role of chemical engineers in chemical plants.
Comments on the Event
From this, I can very much say I was able to enjoy the plant visit, albeit I might have gained more insights
and new information if we were able to tour on foot inside the plant. As for the schedule, I think we could have
made our stay inside the plant longer, from which we could have gained more lessons especially coming form the
engineers of the said plant. Overall, our visit to the Petron Bataan Refinery was something to remember.