Azerbaijan, Baku, November 12 / Trend, E. Ismailov /
Development of the project of shipment of chemicals manufactured by Azerbaijani production unit Azerkimya through the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR)-owned Kulevi oil terminal nears its completion, a source with the SOCAR told Trend on Saturday.
"Development of this project is at the stage of completion," the source reported.
As for starting date and volume of shipment of chemicals, the source said it is hard to speak about this until the project is completed and all issues are agreed upon.
Currently, the Kulevi terminal is specialized in shipment of crude oil and petroleum products. Shipment of chemicals is a new direction so all related matters should be studied thoroughly, the source noted.
Liquid polyethylene and propylene manufactured by Azerkimya are considered the raw materials for shipment. The production unit is Azerbaijan's biggest producer of chemicals.
The Kulevi terminal was put into operation in May 2008 and actually began shipping petroleum products in June of the same year. The terminal's combined shipping capacity is 10 million tons of oil cargoes per year, including 3 million tons of crude oil, 3 million tons of diesel fuel, and 4 million tons of fuel oil. Total capacity of the tank farm is 320,000 cubic meters with the possibility of subsequent increase up to 380,000 cubic meters.
The terminal is equipped with two moorages designed for petroleum products loading into tankers with the deadweight of up to 100,000 tons. The loading capacity oscillates from 1,000 cubic meters to 8,000 cubic meters per hour. The facility is serviced by a port railway station capable of storing up to 180 cisterns waiting for petroleum cargo loading. It is possible to unload 168 cisterns simultaneously at railway piers.