June 21, 2006 [TEPSA] - TERMINALES PORTUARIAS, S.L. (TEPSA) has launched two new extension development projects at its terminals in Barcelona and Bilbao, which will lead to an increase in capacity of 50,000 m3 for the first, and 40,000 m3 for the latter.
As a result, 6 new tanks will be added to the Barcelona terminal, to be located in the area known as Barcelona 3, which currently has 75,000 m3 for storage of oil-bearing products. The Barcelona Terminal has currently a capacity of 273,392 m3 —including a total of 226 tanks— of which 160,870 m3 are for oil-bearing products.
As for the Bilbao Terminal, 2 new tanks will be built in Basin number 9 for storage of diesel oil. The previous Terminal extension development —which included the construction of the said basin with 3 tanks of 18.095 m3 each— became operative in January 2004. Currently, the total capacity of the Bilbao terminal reaches 208,630 m3.
Both developments combined are TEPSA’s answer to the growing demand from the oil sector for greater capacity, increased specialisation and flexibility. Connection with a new 16 m-draught mooring With the goal of offering better services to the oil sector, TEPSA will connect with the future 16 m-draught mooring that the Barcelona Port Authority is planning to have available by 2008. This mooring will enable clients to supply their product to larger vessels, as well as to have access to more competitive shipping freight, as it is already the case at the Bilbao Terminal.
Right now, the Bilbao Terminal has the ideal configuration for operations involving oil-bearing products. Apart from its two moorings, both featuring 16 m draughts, the facilities are strategically located in the busy North Sea oil product routes, and connected —like the Barcelona terminal — to the CLH’s national pipeline system. Furthermore, the Bilbao Terminal is also pipelined to REPSOL’s PETRONOR refinery, which enables separate reception of both diesel oil and petrol products. This development will also involve increased traffic of diesel oil at the terminal, which will also boost the use of biodiesel.
In fact, TEPSA was the first company to introduce and handle biodiesel, environmentally friendly fuel, in Spain thanks to the flexibility offered by its facilities. Also, the company is investing large sums in the upgrade of the automatic loading system for oil-bearing products at the Barcelona and Bilbao terminals, the construction of specific tanks for the different raw materials, as well as the implementation of a new online blending system.
