Page 24 - SAPREF 50 year

“In 2012, 35 Very Large and 53 medium-sized Crude Carrier tankers called at the SBM, discharging a total of 16million tonnes of crude oil — ”that’s one ship every four days.
A Lionfish which is known to occur around the buoy.
The Rainbow Runner is a beautiful pelagic fish which is also known to occur around the buoy. Photo by Dennis King
SBM
Not many people give a thought to how South Africa gets the crude oil that is used to make the petroleum products on which we depend.
South Africa has a highly specialised piece of marine equipment called the Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) through which about 85% of the country’s crude oil is imported. The SBM makes it possible for massive oil tankers to dock
and to discharge crude oil, which then gets transported by pipelines to refineries in Durban and Gauteng. SAPREF has the unenviable task of operating and managing the SBM on behalf of the oil industry in the country.
Marine Manager Calum Love explains how
it all works: “It is a crucial and busy piece of equipment. In 2012, for example, 35 Very Large and 53 medium-sized Crude Carrier tankers called at the SBM, discharging a total of 16million tonnes of crude oil — that’s one ship every four days. Each VLCC is as long as three rugby fields, has a deadweight of about 330 000 tonnes and carries two million barrels of crude oil; the medium-sized vessels carry one million barrels of crude.”
The SBM is located 2,5km offshore at Reunion Rocks, south of Durban. It is anchored to the seabed by eight mooring chains in
48 metres of water. The SBM is owned by a
A crude carrier discharging at the SBM.
consortium of oil companies known as the SBM Participants (Shell, BP, Engen, Sasol and Total), and is operated by Smit Amandla Marine (SAM), a SAPREF contractor.
The SBM was first installed in March 1970 at a cost of R6,7million, and the first consignment of crude oil was pumped to the South Tank Farm in July 1970. A new SBM was installed in 1972.
In 1998 SAPREF replaced the 40” undersea pipeline to the SBM with a new 48” pipeline. A barge moored at sea beyond the SBM hauled the pipe into the sea in 24-metre sections.
The carbon-steel line has 16mm walls with an external asphalt enamel anti-corrosion coating of 5mm and a high-density concrete weight-coat of 115mm. The design life of the line is 40 years.
In 2006, the section of line between Reunion Rocks and the SAPREF tank farm was replaced at a cost of R27million.
The SBM currently in use was installed
in 2009. It was a direct replacement of the previous one but it had significant upgrades in design and equipment. It was constructed in Abu Dhabi at a cost of R125million.
SAPREF: FUELLING SA FOR 50 YEARS
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