A multi-million rand strategic expansion programme by tank storage provider Vopak is underway at its Durban Island View operations to keep abreast of the country’s increasing demand for petroleum products.

Vopak’s decision to increase its fuel storage capacity comes in the wake of Transnet’s commissioning of the New Multi-Product Pipeline (NMPP) which runs between Durban and Gauteng, and which is designed to service the transport needs of refined petroleum products such as petrol, diesel, and jet fuel along the Durban-Gauteng corridor.

The coastal end of the NMPP is adjacent to Vopak’s Island View tank farm, making for easy flow of fuel from tanks into the pipeline.

The Moerane Report of 2006 identified that the fuel storage and transport infrastructure of South Africa required improvement. As a result, the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) developed the Energy Security Master Plan for Liquid Fuels.

A key recommendation of this plan was that the petroleum handling facilities at the Port of Durban should be optimised, to ensure Durban as the port of entry for petroleum products.

In response to the abovementioned report and the growing demand for petroleum products, Vopak developed a plan aimed at improving the efficiency of its terminal by providing additional capacity at the Farewell-King site.

Land availability in the Port of Durban is limited and the lateral expansion of Vopak’s facilities was not feasible.

Therefore, Vopak has been forced to increase its storage capacity on the land that it is currently leasing. The current usage of the available space will be optimised by removing 19 existing small tanks (300 – 1000 m3) and replacing them with eight larger storage tanks built to the best international standards.

The replacement of tanks will increase capacity from 19 000 cu/m to 64 000 cu/m at this location, whilst the total terminal will go up from 135,000 m3 to 220,000 m3 when all the expansion projects at Island View are complete.

Erik Kleine, managing director of Vopak South Africa, said: “Vopak has centered its efficiency project on the consolidation of the existing storage facilities at Durban’s Island View, commencing with the capacity expansion at the Farewell-King site.”

“While the project will not expand the geographical footprint of the sites, it will nonetheless enhance Vopak’s ability to service the changing petroleum market demands by increasing the handling and storage capacities of the terminals within the boundaries of the current sites.”

He said the expansion project will entail the replacement of a number of existing tanks with new state-of-the-art storage tanks and ancillary infrastructure such as connecting pipelines, pump bays and fire-fighting infrastructure. Manual equipment will be replaced by automatic technology.

At least 150 jobs will be created during the project preparation and construction phases.

The new capacity at the Vopak Farewell-King site has already been leased out and will store fuel brought by ships.

Kleine said Vopak undertook an extensive risk assessment, in preparation for the expansion project, with strict compliance to all safety, security and environmental regulations and procedures.

In addition to the expansion project at Farewell-King site, Vopak also has plans to replace tanks at its Fynn site at Island View.

Tanks that presently have 9 000 cu/m capacity will be replaced with petroleum tanks that will have 60 000 cu/m capacity for distribution locally and through the NMPP.

At Lesedi near Heidelberg which is the inland terminus of the NPP, Vopak is conducting a feasibility study to construct a terminal with capacity of 140 000 cu/m in the first phase.

The plan is for the Vopak tanks to be linked to the Transnet Accumulation Facility and there will also be road loading facilities.

At Richards Bay, Vopak is conducting a feasibility study for the construction of a multiproduct chemicals terminal, which would also include a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage facility.

In keeping with its commitment to growth in South Africa, Vopak has allocated a 30 percent (non-controlling) stake to local black empowerment company Reatile Chemicals last year.