Home / South America / Argentina / Oil refineries / YPF Plaza Huincul Refinery

YPF Plaza Huincul Refinery

Refinery in Argentina. Approximate location -38.92815, -69.1812.

RefineryArgentinaCO₂ estimate (modelled)

YPF Plaza Huincul Refinery is a refinery in Argentina. Its listed capacity is 25,000 BBL per day. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery. It is operated by Ypf SA. By capacity it ranks #7 among 7 oil refineries in Argentina. It emits about 139,764 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE, roughly comparable to the annual emissions of 33k passenger cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 35% below the national median for this sector.

25,000BBL per day
139,764t CO₂e / yr (Climate TRACE)
#23CO₂ rank in Argentina
5.59t CO₂ per capacity unit

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-3143730.

Data status

Known source data

FacilityYPF Plaza Huincul Refinery Climate TRACE
CountryArgentina Climate TRACE
Coordinates-38.92815, -69.1812 Climate TRACE
Sector / subsectoroil-and-gas-refining Climate TRACE
Reported capacity25,000 BBL per day Climate TRACE
Owner / operatorYpf SA Climate TRACE
Modelled CO₂e139,764 t/yr Climate TRACE

Calculated from the dataset

Argentina rank#23 of 33 · top 69.7% calculated
Global oil-and-gas-refining rank#539 of 630 · top 85.6% calculated
Climate contextderived from coordinates calculated

Not available

Fuel typeNot available not in dataset
Thermal capacity (MW)Not available not in dataset

Source data, measured cross-checks and calculated values are kept separate. No confidence percentage is invented.

Similar facilities by modelled emissions

Same Climate TRACE subsector; closest non-placeholder modelled CO₂e values. Russia and Belarus excluded.

In context: how this facility compares

At 25,000 BBL per day, YPF Plaza Huincul Refinery is below the median refinery in Argentina (50,000 BBL per day). Subsector: oil-and-gas-refining. As refinery, it requires high process heat (typically 200–600°C) for its core industrial operations — heat that must be supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion, and losses through uninsulated vessels and piping represent wasted fuel. Removable modular insulation can cut those losses by 80–96%, surface-cooling equipment to ≤45°C, with payback often under 2 years. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

What 139,764 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's estimated annual CO₂e (Climate TRACE, modelled) in everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

33kcars driven for a year
18khomes' annual energy use
2.3 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Carbon cost, Scope 1 & decarbonization potential

At its reported 140k t CO₂e/yr (Scope 1), YPF Plaza Huincul Refinery carries no domestic carbon price; refinerys are not a CBAM-covered good, so there is no border-carbon liability. At the EU ETS reference price (€75/t) the emissions carry an indicative carbon value of €10.5M/yr. The fastest decarbonization lever is energy efficiency: eliminating heat loss on hot equipment (removable insulation, steam & waste-heat recovery) typically cuts 2–5% of fuel-related CO₂ — here ≈3k t–7k t/yr, worth €211k€527k, with payback up to 2 years. No domestic carbon price — but cement, steel, aluminium, fertilizer and hydrogen exported to the EU face CBAM at €75/t (rising to 100% by 2034).

140k t CO₂e / yrScope 1 emissions
€10.5M/yrindicative carbon value (not a CBAM liability)
3k t–7k t/yr ≈ €211k€527kDecarbonization potential

Carbon price: EU CBAM €75/t · EU ETS €79/t, July 2, 2026, refreshed live via Carbon Hub. CO₂: Climate TRACE. Efficiency range: US DOE / ASTM C680 (method). Indicative carbon value, not the cash bill — free allocation applies; not compliance advice. Estimate the saving for this site →

Capacity vs largest oil refineries in Argentina

YPF la Plata Refinery: 189,000 BBL per day189kYPF la Pla…Raizen Buenos Aires Refinery: 112,000 BBL per day112kRaizen Bue…YPF Lujan de Cuyo Refinery: 106,000 BBL per day106kYPF Lujan …Refisan S.A. San Lorenzo Refinery: 50,000 BBL per day50kRefisan S.…Trafigura Bahia Blanca Refinery: 31,500 BBL per day32kTrafigura …Refinor Campo Duran Refinery: 25,200 BBL per day25kRefinor Ca…YPF Plaza Huincul Refinery: 25,000 BBL per day25kYPF Plaza …

Listed capacity (BBL per day), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by Ypf SA. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

YPF Plaza Huincul Refinery sits in a warm-summer Mediterranean climate zone (Köppen Csb), at 38.9°S in the southern hemisphere.

~14°Ctypical annual mean
~21°Ctypical warm-season
Warm-summer mediterranean: four distinct seasons — cold winters and warm summers

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

The local climate sets how fast unprotected steel, protective coatings and the insulation on hot process equipment degrade at this site. It sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C2ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
28/100environmental-severity index
16.5°Cseasonal temperature swing
266 kmdistance to coast
LowCUI risk tier

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1367 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.05× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1299 W/m² of that. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

The #7 largest of 7 oil refineries in Argentina by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

Location

Coordinates -38.92815, -69.1812. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

For a refinery, the main modular-insulation targets are crude & vacuum distillation columns, fired heaters, heat exchangers, steam lines, valves & flanges. Typical hot-surface ranges used for screening: 150–550 °C.

Indicative recoverable energy

A first-pass insulation screen suggests about 32,000 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 6,300 t CO₂e/year of avoided emissions. Screening estimate scaled from installed process-heat projects and surface-temperature reduction data.

See Inzonex Modular Insulation → Run the calculator →

Screening calculation from facility class, capacity and open emissions/energy context. Engineering survey required before procurement.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Start with a thermal survey of valves, flanges, doors and bends. Removable modular insulation keeps maintenance access open while lowering exposed-surface temperature and wasted heat.

External climate finance your country can access

For energy-efficiency projects around process heat, likely external funding channels include:

Sources: country climate-finance facilities and public development-bank programmes.

Frequently asked questions

What type of facility is YPF Plaza Huincul Refinery?

YPF Plaza Huincul Refinery is a refinery in Argentina. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

What capacity is listed for YPF Plaza Huincul Refinery?

The open dataset lists 25,000 BBL per day of capacity for YPF Plaza Huincul Refinery.

How much CO₂ does YPF Plaza Huincul Refinery emit?

The page uses about 139,764 t CO₂e/year from the open dataset It ranks #23 among facilities in Argentina by estimated CO₂.

Where is YPF Plaza Huincul Refinery located?

YPF Plaza Huincul Refinery is in Argentina at approximately -38.92815, -69.1812.

Who operates YPF Plaza Huincul Refinery?

The operator recorded in the open dataset is Ypf SA.

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.