20
2016 ANNUAL REPORT
Considerable progress was made
in 2016 in regard to buildings and
other civil works (i.e.: access routes,
electrical room, service booth, control
room, mechanical room, among
others). Likewise, improvements were
made to the primary and auxiliary
systems, including the leak detection
system, the quick berthing/unberthing
system, the navigation system (i.e.:
monitoring systems for environmental
and maritime conditions and daytime/
nighttime vessel tracking), the product
conveyance system (e.g.: crude oil,
gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, intermediate
fuel oil), the electromechanical and
control installations, the industrial safety
mechanisms, and the environmental and
occupational health policies.
This is the first pier in Costa Rica with
dolphin structures. The aforementioned
berthing/mooring
dolphins
were
constructed near the northern breakwater
of the Port of Moín (the location of one
of the first oil terminals in Costa Rica),
which will continue to operate as normal,
and will now allow for the simultaneous
berthing of two vessels, one in each
pier. Moreover, since the port’s berth
can now handle vessels of up to 80,000
deadweight tons (or 560,000 barrels),
fuel shipments can now be of a larger
size; this could yield significant savings
in terms of freight and insurance costs.
The expansion of the piers will similarly
improve port operations, given that large
vessels engaged in the banana trade
oftentimes request permission to berth,
just as an oil tanker requests permission
to unload a shipment of petroleum-based
products; the pier has several limitations
in terms of capacity and operability,
especially when facing adverse weather
conditions, that will be addressed.
From an environmental sustainability
perspective, the expansion project will
protect the western reef of Isla Pájaros
(Bird Island) which, in turn, shelters
other islands in close proximity that
would have otherwise been negatively
affected by the sediments dragged along
the river bed of the Moín River.
Storage Terminal in Moín
1. This project involves installing
three new tanks with the capacity to
store 100,000 barrels of Premium
Gasoline, 100,000 barrels of Bunker
and 350,000 barrels of Diesel, at the
largest storage site in Costa Rica,
located in the province of Limón.
Cost of the Project: $43,257,048.
The aforementioned tanks will
increase the storage capacity of the
storage site in Moín by 550,000
barrels. With the capacity to store
56,000 cubic meters of Diesel
(equivalent to 350,000 barrels),
this storage tank will be the largest
in the country. The remaining two
storage tanks (one for premium
gasoline and one for bunker) will
have the capacity to store 100
thousand barrels.
CostaRica consumes approximately
55 thousand barrels of oil per day;
the increase in storage capacity will
therefore represent close to 60 days
of inventory. The increase in storage
capacity is expected to reinforce
RECOPE’s mission to provide
uninterrupted nationwide coverage
and fuel distribution services.
2. Installing
four
new
black-
petroleum-product storage tanks
with the capacity to store 15,000
barrels; two for bunker and two
for asphalt. This would cover the
storage requirements of the point
of sale in Moín; the only terminals
where these products are sold in the
entire country. Cost of the Project:
$14,875,000.
This project is in progress and
is 94% completed by December
2016. The following are not
included in the project: installation
of thermal insulation, installation
of piping system, professional
painting services, electrical wiring,
and tank calibration services.
Asphalt storage tanks are currently
undergoing pre-commissioning
procedures.
3. Installing the four spheres acquired
on the third and the last purchases
made in furtherance of the Gas
Storage System (SAGAS as per
its Spanish acronym) Project. The
installation of the fire suppression
system and the construction of the
pumping facilities are also part of
the subproject.
The following were practically
complete as at December 31
st
: the
installation of the fire suppression
system and the construction of the
$98.64 million
total cost of the expansion project of the
Caribbean Oil Port
Terminal
