The La Teja Refinery is the only

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, and is located in the

La Teja La Teja is a '' barrio'' (neighbourhood or district) of Montevideo, Uruguay. The neighborhood has a mix of residential and industrial properties, mostly occupied by working class communities, including with a number of informal settlements built ...

neighborhood in Montevideo. Owned by the national industry

ANCAP ANCAP may refer to: * ANCAP (commodity standard), based on ammonium nitrate, copper, aluminum and plywood * Australasian New Car Assessment Program * ANCAP (Uruguay) ANCAP (Administración Nacional de Combustibles, Alcoholes y Portland, Engl ...

, the refinery primarily produces light-grade oil products used for domestic industries. The refinery is connected to an oil terminal in the

Port of Montevideo The Port of Montevideo ( es, Puerto de Montevideo), in the northern part of the Old City of Montevideo, Uruguay, is one of the major ports of South America and plays a very important role in the economy of Uruguay. Notably the port includes a nu ...

. The refinery was first operated in 1937, and currently has a total capacity of approximately 50,000 barrels a day. , most of the approximately imported for the refinery were from

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

.Gurmendi, Alfredo C
"The Mineral Industry of Paraguay and Uruguay"
(PDF). ''2006 Minerals Yearbook''.

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

(April 2008) .

Emissions

A 2011 study measured found SO₂ emissions to be ~ 4×10¹⁷ molec cm⁻² slant column density directly over the oil refinery, decreasing as the plume disperses and NO₂ peaking at ~ 1×10¹⁶ molec cm⁻².

Planned future

The refinery undergoes overhauls approximately every 4 years. The capacity of the refinery is scheduled to be upgrade in 2023 to better produce lightweight petroleum products with residual oil solvent extraction and solvent deasphalting. Because of the energy transition in the country, where Uruguay had over 94% clean energy and the government has plans for a transition for other industries like transport, Minister of Environment

Adrián Peña Nelson Adrián Peña Robaina (born 20 January 1976) is a Uruguayan businessman and politician of the Colorado Party. He served as the first Minister of the Environment from August 27, 2020 to January 30, 2023. He has been in politics since he wa ...

projected closing the refinery by 2035 to meet the

zero emission Zero emission refers to an engine, motor, process, or other energy source, that emits no waste products that pollute the environment or disrupt the climate. Zero emission engines Vehicles and other mobile machinery used for transport (over land, s ...

goal set out in Uruguay Long Term Climate Strategy.

References

Oil refineries in Uruguay {{Petroleum-stub