Foreign investment in integrated jetty project has come to Pakistan at a time when the local investors were shy

By SHABBIR H. KAZMI
August 16 - 22, 1999

The nine million dollar LPG terminal, set up by Engro Paktank Limited (EPTL), has been completed this month. It has the capacity to store 4,500 tonnes of LPG at a time, while the annual handling is expected to be 100,000 tonnes. The facility will ensure greater availability of imported LPG for the domestic consumers currently using traditional fuels.

The EPTL is a joint venture of Engro Chemical Pakistan and Royal Pakhoed of the Netherlands. The Company was incorporated in 1995 as a joint venture. The agreement with Port Qasim Authority (PQA) gave EPTL the right to handle and store liquid and gaseous chemicals/petrochemicals at its terminal.

The newly built facility comprises of nine LPG storage tanks and will cater to the needs of commercial importers of LPG. In the beginning imported LPG is being unloaded, stored and dispatched in bulk. The Company also has plans to establish bottling facility in the future. The terminal strictly follows international standards for storage and handling.

Royal Pakhoed is among the world leaders in handling and tank storage of oil and chemicals and distribution of chemical products. It is also a key player in shipping of chemicals in Europe and has a number of specialized logistic services. The Company has a global storage capacity of 16 million cubic meter. Its ships and barges carry more than 5 million tonnes of products per year. EPTL is Pakhoed's first investment in Pakistan.

In the first phase EPTL constructed facilities for the integrated bulk liquid chemical terminal and storage. The first phase comprised construction of 41,000 cubic meter storage facility together with a 75,000 dwt jetty. The cost of first phase of the project was US$ 60 million. The tank farm is situated on reclaimed land in the Port Qasim harbour area on 100 acre site adjacent to the jetty.

Main Features of EPTL integrated project:

* A jetty and mooring dolphins designed for ships up to 75,000 dwt.

* Off-loading of products from vessels through dedicated Marine Loading Arms.

* The jetty comprises a concrete trestle with service road parallel to a pipeway for product pipelines, utilities and fire fighting

* Product transfer pipelines from the jetty to the storage tank area.

* Respective truck loading facilities for dispatching products.

* Ancillary facilities such as electrical power supply, fire fighting system, nitrogen system and waste-handling system.

The LPG handling facility of EPTL will replace the existing marginal facility for LPG handling of PQA. The EPTL would handle all the LPG import shipments in the future. According to an agreement between the Company and the PQA, the Authority has to stop such handling as soon as LPG terminal of EPTL starts operations. The Dutch joint venture partners have extensive experience of operating bulk liquid and LPG storage facilities globally.

The EPTL facility is of international standard and maintains the highest safety standards. Staff has been trained at one of Pakhoed's terminals in Rotterdam harbour for maintaining safety awareness and technical know-how/expertise. Various training courses are also conducted on regular basis at the EPTL terminal.

The permission to establish LPG handling and storage facility to EPTL was in pursuance of the policy of the government. The government encourages greater use of gas instead of other traditional fuels in the country particularly to conserve fast depleting forests in the northern areas where natural gas is still not available.

At present there is an annual supply of 200,000 tonnes of LPG in the country. Out of this, 180,000 tonnes is being produced domestically. The consumption of LPG is expected to grow at a higher rate with the improved availability of LPG. The demand has remained suppressed due to supply constraints. The potential demand for LPG in the country is estimated around 2 million tonnes per annum.