Byco opens 25-metre deep oil terminal in Balochistan

Byco has achieved yet another historic milestone by bringing the first ever oil tanker to its newly-established deep sea Single Point Mooring (SPM) facility constructed by the Byco Terminal Pakistan Ltd, a Byco group company.
Byco’s crude oil tanker, M.T ARIETIS, carrying 70,000 tons of upper zakum crude oil from Abu Dahbi was berthed at first ever SPM Tuesday.
This marks the commissioning of 3rd port which will be used for import of crude oil and petroleum related products. With a clear draft of 25 meters this facility can accommodate larger size vessels carrying Crude/ Petroleum products in cargo sizes of over 100,000 tons. The full operation of SPM will cause to create adequate availability of other oil piers leading to reduced waiting time and consequential demurrage.
In the initial stages, the SPM shall be used to import Crude Oil for Byco’s newly completed 120,000 bpd and the existing fully operative smaller refinery of 35,000 bpd.
The SPM has been set up on the coast of Arabian Sea at a distance of approximately 14km from the Byco’s Mouza Kund Site and is approximately 10 kilometers from the sea shore at 25 meters depth. It is connected to the storage tanks through 28 inch diameter offshore and onshore pipeline.
Speaking on the occasion, Imran Farookhi, CEO Byco Terminals Pakistan, the company that owns and operates the SPM, said that the arrival of M.T ARIETIS marked the end of one journey and the beginning of a new one. “With the blessings of the Almighty, we have conquered all obstacles and are ready to meet the needs of Pakistan’s growing oil needs,” he said.
Presently the petroleum products are being imported through Karachi and Port Qasim and both these ports had a draft limitation and as such cannot accommodate larger ships.
The SPM facility with a draft of 25 meters would allow mooring of the larger crude carriers, which would not only result into lower administrative cost but would also bring in substantial savings on account of difference in freight charges, thus giving SPM facility a strategic advantage.
Byco Terminals Pakistan is an infrastructure company setup to facilitate the logistics of petroleum products, Byco Terminals Pakistan (formerly Universal Terminal Limited) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited (BPPL).