July 20, 2026 [Tank Storage Magazine]- Panama’s government has acquired Petroterminal de Panama after buying the remaining 41% private stake in the company, ensuring national control for the country’s most important strategic infrastructure. Petroterminal was developed and managed by NIC Holding in association with the Republic of Panama.

Petroterminal stores, transships and transports hydrocarbons through a 131km pipe that links the Atlantic terminal, located in Chiriquí Grande, Bocas del Toro, with the Pacific terminal, located in Charco Azul, Puerto Armuelles, Chiriquí. It has a combined storage capacity of 14.6 million barrels over both sites.

Alongside the purchase, the government will now integrate a management model with the goal of ‘convert[ing] Panamá’s privileged geographic position into greater economic opportunities, more jobs, better incomes and renewed national pride,’ according to its press release.

Panamá’s minister of Economy and Finance, Felipe Chapman, states: ‘Panama is building a better future, making the best decisions and thinking about the nation’s future. We do so with strict adherence to the law, the financial responsibility required for managing public assets, and in harmony with workers, suppliers and shareholders. Our goal is for this strategic infrastructure to generate increasing value and greater benefits for all Panamanians.’