SOCAR's oil terminal in Georgia to create new infrastructure
By Aynur Jafarova
Azerbaijani state energy company SOCAR's Kulevi oil terminal located on the Black Sea coast of Georgia intends to create breakwater infrastructure, a statement posted on the website of the terminal says.
Considering that the Kulevi port is located in the Black Sea coastal zone, which is during storm periods mainly under the effect of sea waves from west and south-west, construction of breakwater structures was suggested in design documentation and social and environmental impact assessment reports and has always been one of the main priorities for the terminal's management, the statement said.
The construction of breakwater structures will reduce the intensity of waves in inshore waters and thereby reduce erosion in the coastal zone neighboring on environmentally sensitive territories, and increase the safety of navigation in the Kulevi port.
According to the statement, a tender for selecting a contractor for design and construction of the breakwater infrastructure in the future was announced at the end of 2012. Currently, all the proposals are under consideration.
The Georgian Kulevi port terminal was put into operation in May 2008. Transshipment of petroleum products began in June.
Its total capacity is 10 million tons of oil per year, including 3 million tons of oil, 3 million tons of diesel fuel and 4 million tons of fuel oil.
The terminal can accommodate up to 168 tank cars. The tank farm's fuel capacity is 320,000 cubic meters with the possibility of increasing it to 380,000 cubic meters.
For loading operations there are two berths for receiving tankers with loading capacity of up to 100,000 tons. The terminal has its own railway station where 180 oil tank cars can be placed for discharging.
The terminal has a number of technological constructions and mechanisms intended for receiving, storage, and loading oil and oil products to tankers, as well as auxiliary and industrial, domestic and administrative buildings, which makes the operation of the terminal very efficient. The facility has high-level automation and mechanization of industrial processes.