Petroterminal de Panama (PTP) has announced a project that will reverse the flow of its 81-mile trans-Panamanian pipeline. After the completion of the project, Tesoro has agreed to ship 107,000 barrels-per-day of crude through the pipeline under a seven-year agreement. PTP expects the pipeline reversal project to be ready for start-up during the third quarter of 2009.
According to the company, the throughput agreement will allow Tesoro to deliver crude oils produced in Africa, the Atlantic region of South America and the North Sea to the company’s five Pacific Rim waterborne refineries.
Tesoro leases existing tankage from PTP, but PTP has also agreed to build new dedicated tanks for Tesoro on both sides of the Isthmus of Panama which are estimated to be in service by the end of the first quarter of 2010. Tesoro plans to use the pipeline and tanks to blend and distribute different grades of crude oils for its own use.
Tesoro Corporation is an independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products. Through its subsidiaries the company operates seven refineries in the western United States with a combined capacity of approximately 660,000 barrels per day, claims Tesoro.
