Page 12 - LatAmOil Week 19 2020

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The plant has 17 tanks that can hold more than 10.5mn barrels of crude oil and petroleum products, but seven of them are currently under repair. These seven idle tanks have a combined capacity of 4.224mn barrels of crude. The remaining 10 are capable of holding 5.224mn barrels of oil, 665,000 barrels of clean fuels and 518,000 barrels of naphtha, and they are availa- ble for prompt leasing.
Aruba’s government unveiled its plan for leasing storage capacity at the refinery earlier this month, shortly after it terminated its pre- vious agreement with PdV Holding (PDVH), a US-based affiliate of the Venezuelan national oil company (NOC) PdVSA. It took this step because PDVH’s subsidiary Citgo Aruba Hold- ing (CAH) failed to uphold its commitment to renovate the refinery, along with its storage, docking and terminal facilities, and keep it sup- plied with crude oil.
Evelyn Wever-Croes, the prime minister of Aruba, said in early May that her government was keen to find a partner but would not rush to
COLOMBIA
close a deal. “It will take us at least a month to get the best offer for Aruba, do the inspections of the tanks and start sending crude so we can receive the lease payment, which is estimated to net at least AWG5mn [$2.78mn per month],” she was quoted as saying by Argus Media.” ™
RdA owns Aruba’s only oil refinery (Photo: File)
Ecopetrol eyes new storage options
COLOMBIA’S national oil company (NOC) Ecopetrol has joined the ranks of businesses looking for new ways to respond to the global shortage of fuel storage capacity.
According to Felipe Bayon, Ecopetrol’s CEO, the company has already taken certain steps to respond to the crisis that has rocked world crude markets over the last two months. In the face of low oil prices and sluggish demand, he said, the NOC has reduced production levels and refin- ery throughput.
Bayon also stressed, though, that Ecopetrol had “adjusted [its] whole logistical system” to withstand the current disruption and to prepare
for future challenges. These adjustments include new options for crude oil storage, he said.
“We are looking at opportunities for floating storage or storage in some parts of the Carib- bean, but up to now we have been able to face this stress with the systems we have in the coun- try. We are looking at this permanently to be able to adjust to what is happening with this crisis,” he was quoted as saying in the NOC’s first-quar- ter earnings report.
In that report, Ecopetrol said its consolidated storage capacity currently amounted to 4.7mn barrels of crude oil and 6.7mn barrels of petro-
leum products. 
Low oil prices will hit Ecopetrol’s production and profits this year (Photo: Colprensa)
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 19 14•May•2020