Following a major earthquake that struck Papua New Guinea (PNG) in February 2018, the Kutubu Refinery ceased production due to ground failures and damage to the production facility. Santos, the plant operator, has since progressed to replace the damaged Kutubu Refinery with a new modular refinery.
The aim of the Kutubu Refinery Repair and Upgrade Project is to reinstate the site civil works, install and integrate a new modular refinery process unit into the existing plant, repair and upgrade the balance of plant equipment, and complete other defined upgrade works to reinstate the refinery as an operating facility.
The project involves tie-in to the existing Central Processing Facility (CPF), supplying stabilised crude to a new crude supply tank and transfer pumps, transfer via a new 3.2km high pressure pipeline to the Kutubu Ridge Refinery. The refinery will process the crude to supply Diesel and Jet A1 product into product storage tanks and delivering to an upgraded truck load out facility.