Oil Terminal Has Completed a 55,000cbm Storage Tank
Oil Terminal Constanta on January 5 completed the construction of a 55,000 cubic metre storage tank, the company’s newest and largest investment and the largest tank built since 1989.
At the North Platform section, located in Constanta, the Romanian Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja together with Oil Terminal CEO Sorin Ciutureanu and Constanta Mayor Vergil Chitac made a brief presentation of this new investment.
“This is the largest tank built from scratch by Oil Terminal since 1970. (…) Romanian sheet of the highest quality. A company in the portfolio of the Ministry of Energy, Oil Terminal has a tradition of over 125 years and plays a strategic role both for Romania and for the entire region,” said Sebastian Burduja. “Oil Terminal Constanta has understood the opportunities of the crisis in Ukraine and of the upcoming reconstruction and has acted to increase capacity and therefore the company’s revenues and profitability. And it doesn’t stop there, this year it has four more projects in the pipeline: two upgraded tanks, a new one in the Port of Constanta and a new bitumen terminal, a first. It sets an example for other state-owned companies in the energy sector – and beyond. The Southern Platform plays a crucial role in securing supplies of diesel to markets in Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and also to the domestic market,” the energy minister added.
“I wanted to be in Constanta and thank you for this opportunity. This is a chance for the people of Constanta to reinvent their energy quality. This project will give a new face to the city of Constanta through this development. This new tank allows capacity to be moved south where it does not interfere with the daily life of the community. Secondly, we are used to talking about the potential of Oil Terminal. There is a long tradition here. The conflict in Ukraine has given Oil Terminal a new perspective. This new tank means a chance for the company to grow, it means the mandate to invest, and it is very good news that some investments are soon coming in Romania. Together with the other projects you have prepared this year, this investment plan will give the company and the community a new perspective,” Sebastian Burduja stressed.
The tank has a floating metal cover, is 18 metres high, 60 metres in diameter and has a 10,000 square metre reservoir, with 900 tonnes of metal used in its construction.
According to the company’s representatives, an average of 50 workers worked daily during the construction period (17 months) and the work was completed in record time, 13 months ahead of the contract deadline (30 months originally planned). This new storage capacity is a pressing need in the current geopolitical situation and offers the possibility of being used for both crude oil and diesel, depending on market/customer demand.
“It is already a certainty that Oil Terminal is a company that delivers on its commitments. By completing this major investment, the management team has kept its promise and achieved a main objective, namely increasing the storage capacity and transferring to the South Platform Section, located outside the city of Constanta, the existing capacities in the North Platform Section – located inside the city of Constanta. Thus, the 38 ha of land located in the North Platform Section is released, which provides multiple access facilities to both the public road and rail infrastructure, being located in the city, next to the Constanta train station, as well as to the public utilities’ infrastructure such as water, sewage, electricity and gas connections,” said Sorin Ciutureanu, CEO of Oil Terminal. He said that an urban regeneration project is to be carried out on the land and that he intends to build a bitumen terminal.
“For the future we plan to diversify our activity by building a bitumen terminal, to continue to increase storage capacities, to automate existing facilities by implementing advanced technologies and high safety standards so as to ensure that all operations are carried out in a responsible and environmentally friendly way, and to demonstrate the strategic importance of Oil Terminal, its contribution to the energy flow and sustaining the engine of the Romanian economy.”
About Oil Terminal
Established in 1898, under the name ‘Steaua Romana’, Oil Terminal occupies a strategic position in the Black Sea area, being the largest terminal for the import/export of crude oil, petroleum, and petrochemical products at national level. The company provides services relating to the receipt, loading, unloading, storage and conditioning of crude oil, petroleum, petrochemical and liquid chemical products for import, export, and transit.
The oil terminal in Constanta is one of the largest of this type in South-Eastern Europe, placed at the crossroads of shipping lanes between Asia, Central and Western Europe and the Middle East. Oil Terminal is interconnected with the Romanian refineries through Conpet Ploiesti, for the transport of crude oil from the terminal to refineries, via underground pipelines part of the national transport system. Moreover, the terminal has links to the national railway network, to the road network and the Danube – Black Sea Canal.
