Costa Rica's Recope to launch Pacific terminal public tender

This Recope release was published using machine translation.

This Thursday, April 29, the public tender for the execution of the project called Terminal Pacífico will be published, which will provide the country with another supply point on the Pacific Coast, guaranteeing the energy security of Costa Rica.

RECOPE plays a leading role in the economy of Costa Rica by supplying 67% of the energy that our country requires to maintain its continuous movement, this important mission is carried out through the National Fuel System, which ensures that this energy reaches To all the national territory.

However, given the vulnerability represented by currently having a single import point for 100% of the fuels, located in Moín, the construction project of a second supply point on the Pacific coast was formulated, which will serve to achieve a deconcentration of LP Gas inventories, enabling its regular sale in the Barranca Terminal, and at the same time it will be a contingency port terminal for the receipt of Diesel and Gasolines during bad weather or other events that disable imports through the Terminal Moin.

It is important to take into account that Costa Rica is at the mercy of natural events, which become more intense as the years go by. This is the reason why the country is ranked number 12 in the world ranking with respect to natural disaster risks according to the 2020 World Risk Report.

This situation becomes more critical in the case of LP Gas, which concentrates 100% of the national inventories in the Moín Terminal; inventory that is distributed via tanker trucks along Route 32 to the rest of the national territory. This is an essential product for homes, businesses, industry and transportation, with a daily impact of 44 million dollars on the Gross Domestic Product of Costa Rica.

This vulnerability has been recognized by the government of Costa Rica, which has included within its VII National Energy Plan 2015-2030 and within the National Development and Public Investment Plan 2019-2022 the Terminal Pacífico Project.

The project contemplates the engineering, procurement and construction (IPC) of a monobuoy-type offshore import system (Single Point Mooring or SPM), which will be linked to two subsea pipelines of approximately 4.7 km, which are connected ashore to a pipeline and a diesel line and a liquefied petroleum gas line, which will be unloaded at the Barranca Terminal, for which storage and sale facilities for LP Gas are also considered.

Four pressurized sphere-type storage tanks for LP Gas of 3,975 m3 (25,000 barrels) each will be built and loading docks for sale, the necessary infrastructure for the year 2026 according to the growing demand for this product. In the case of Diesel and Gasolines, the connection to the existing storage tanks of the Barranca Terminal is contemplated and the construction of a new 7,950 m3 (50,000 barrels) diesel tank is only considered to complement the storage needs of the Terminal, finally, to safeguard the integrity of the system, includes the construction of all auxiliary systems and support systems and other works and equipment necessary for the correct operation of the system in general.

It is expected to serve from this terminal, on a regular basis, between 30 and 60% of the demand with the import, storage and sale work by the Pacific Terminal, which will depend on the requirements of the customers.

The trajectory of this initiative has led to the prior completion of robust pre-investment studies, a good definition of the project, land and easements, environmental viability, inter-institutional coordination, among other factors that ensure its success.

The estimated investment of the project for the year 2021 is 234 million dollars, which will be covered with 42% of its own funds and 58% with bank financing. The bidding process is projected to begin at the end of this month of April and take about 12 months, and as for the IPC execution contract plus the technical support for the start-up, another 24 months are projected.