Next May 23 will be one year since the official start of the dismantling of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife refinery. A symbolic act that gave the starting signal to a process that is going to lengthen for five years and that will allow the capital to recover more than 500,000 square meters of land.
These days, the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Refinery is preparing the removal of one of the many elements with which the public identifies the industry, one of the chimneys that is part of the Visbreaker unit, and that already in the official act it was pointed out as the first of the elements that would actually be withdrawn. The chimney already looks surrounded by the scaffolding that will help in its disassembly and a large crane will take care of it.
During this year, Cepsa has made progress in the different administrative steps necessary for the complete stoppage of the activity, the main one being obtaining authorizations to install fuel storage tanks in the port of Granadilla, an operation that will allow it to continue with its distribution activity, once it has already abandoned that of oil refining.
The chimney in question is 52 meters high and was painted in its day with the blue colors that make it so characteristic, like the rest of the elements decorated with the same motifs, in order to minimize its visual impact.
This structure is part of the unit that served to reduce the viscosity of the charge and produce fuel oil. It had a capacity of two million tons per year, and was installed in 1983.
The authorization for the disassembly of the Visbreaker unit was received by Cepsa in November of last year from the Department of Ecological Transition of the Government of the Canary Islands. Along with this unit, it also received permission for the dismantling of the hydrodesulfurization unit 1, dedicated to the removal of sulfur; of the thermal power plant, which includes the disassembly of the compressed air generation facility; and the demineralization plant. In addition, the partial disassembly of the Cotesa part is expected, which includes the water treatment plant, the gas turbine and the compressor. The authorization allows the disassembly, removal and transport of structures, both metallic and reinforced concrete, enclosures, equipment, pipes, wiring, electrical switchgear and accessories of four units.
Circular removal of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Refinery
A process in which Cepsa has established a circular deplantation, that is, everything removed from the Refinery will be used for other uses.
The objectives of this project are to recover the greatest possible value from the assets that are no longer going to be used, extend their useful life and prevent them from being considered waste.
This work plan is executed in coordination with the demolition companies and with the rest of the participants. One of the characteristics of this program is that the vision, Cepsa points out, must be global, avoiding the traditional executions by complete work units and executing a holistic approach that analyzes the suitability of the works related to other areas of the factory.
They point out from the company that this complete vision of dismantling allows the creation of continuous value recovery centers over time and making medium-term investments that will improve results with other areas of the factory.
The aforementioned plan will be applied throughout the process, which is estimated to end in 2025, and allows disaggregation and treatment operations at source, which provides advantages such as reducing waste generation, while increasing return economic.
a long process
The hopes of a greener city, with more endowments and housing are deposited in the recovery of the land of the Refinery. A process that, as the mayor of Santa Cruz, José Manuel Bermúdez, recalls, began in 2018. “In that year we managed to sign an agreement with Cepsa for the progressive dismantling of the Refinery, the first to be built in Spain. That agreement, which the opposition then defined as selling smoke, is today a reality”.
The mayor ensures that the City Council is aware of each of the steps that the company is taking to dismantle the industry. “We are taking the steps, in coordination with Cepsa, so that the city can recover these lands and begin shortly to define what uses are going to be given to it, in a planned manner, among which those dedicated to green spaces, community facilities will stand out and, of course, housing, both publicly and privately promoted”.
Bermúdez concludes by defending that “we continue to meet the commitments made public in 2018 and that will crystallize in a unique operation in Spain, and an opportunity not only for this capital but for Tenerife and the Canary Islands”.
And it is that the collaboration between the different administrations and the company itself is essential for the recovery of the 500,000 square meters of land to become a reality. Cepsa is taking some steps that, although quietly, are beginning to bear fruit, such as the withdrawal of that unit that began a year ago now and is about to materialize. After the final dismantling, it will be time to focus on the decontamination of the land, so that, in 2030, according to the planned schedule, the Santa Cruz Refinery will become just a memory.
