Costa Rica increases its fuel storage capacity

This Recope release was published using machine translation.

In search of efficiency and, in order to transfer benefits to Costa Ricans, today Recope enabled two storage tanks for fuels, after they had been in disuse for many years.

The first of the tanks, known as 7127, had been out of use for two and a half years and was doomed not to be used for another two and a half years; that is, for five years. This tank has a capacity for 100 thousand barrels and is valued at 10.3 million dollars.

The second, known as 7138, also has a capacity of 100,000 barrels, was used in the old refinery for storage of light crude oil and was unused for more than 11 years.

Juan Manuel Quesada, president of Recope, explained that "we have been taking measures, directing resources and prioritizing actions associated with the efficiency of the Company, which favor Costa Ricans in the short term."

"These actions will make it possible for our country to buy a greater volume of product in the international market, better use of our infrastructure, and better and more efficient management of shipments and inventories." Quesada added.

The authorization of these two tanks will allow the country to store more fuel, mainly when the prices in the international market are low, actions that will alleviate the pockets of the
Costa Ricans.

Why was tank 7127 unused?

At the beginning of the year 2020, the 7127 tank was ready to start its operational phase; however, it was not possible due to a lack of inter-institutional coordination, which would allow its use safely.

As of May of this year, the president of Recope, Juan Manuel Quesada, held meetings with the specialized personnel of the Operations and Technical Services Management of Recope, the Fire Department and SETENA to develop a technically feasible and safe proposal, that would allow the entry into operation of the 7127 tank.

"This is an example of teamwork and inter-institutional articulation that exists in the administration of our president, Dr. Rodrigo Chaves, focused on meeting the needs of Costa Ricans." Quesada commented.

If this inter-institutional coordination had not taken place, in which RECOPE, MINAE, SETENA, Costa Rican Firefighters, MOPT, the Ministry of Health, Agriculture, AYA and ICE participated, this tank, with a value of $10.3 million, would have been condemned. to not be used and its deterioration, for five long years, and also would have involved Costa Rica expenses for more than $2 million dollars.

And the 7138 tank?

Tank 7138 was used, at the time, for the storage of light crude oil from 1994 until June 2011, when Costa Rica stopped refining oil.

More than 11 years passed without Costa Rica being able to use that tank. Weeks ago, the necessary resources were allocated and actions were prioritized to put it into operation and use it to store super gasoline.

Currently building a tank of this capacity is around $10.3 million; however, Recope has been able to rescue this infrastructure that belonged to the old refinery.

“This is another example of how we can efficiently and productively reuse assets from the old refinery, which would have been destined for deterioration. This has been possible, thanks to the technical capabilities of our work teams”, highlighted Juan Manuel Quesada.

What does it mean to store 200,000 more barrels of fuel for Costa Rica?

The authorization of tanks 7127 and 7138 means increasing the fuel storage capacity in the country, which represents an increase of 5.22%. of the country's total storage capacity. Costa Rica would go from having a capacity of 3.83 million barrels to more than four million (4,030,000).

In relation to super gasoline, this means going from 893 thousand barrels to more than one million barrels (1,093,000); that is, an increase of 22.4%.

As Quesada mentioned, this will allow the country to store more fuel, make more efficient use of the shipments that arrive in the country and buy more gasoline when there are opportunities to buy cheaper, and in this way have a positive impact on the pockets of Costa Ricans.