Terminal del Pacífico is necessary to guarantee the energy security of Costa Rica

This Recope release was published using machine translation.

The Terminal Pacífico project is necessary to guarantee Costa Rica's energy security, by providing the country with a second fuel entry point in addition to that of Moín, in the Caribbean. The estimated investment for the project is $ 234 million, which will be covered with 42% of its own funds and 58% with bank financing.

LP Gas is the third most consumed product in the country, with an annual growth of 7%, which makes it necessary to expand storage capacity to ensure supply, as it is vital for economic reactivation.

In 2019, 710,000 households used LP Gas for cooking and as of today, that number has increased significantly according to what gas distribution companies report.

We must add households, small and medium industries and hotel companies and the food industry, which depend on this product for their development and the economic reactivation of the country.

Improvements in the LP Gas distribution chain

Currently, all the storage and sale of LP Gas is located in the Moín Terminal, which has 7 areas for the product, which handle an approximate volume of 3,400 m ³ (21,000 barrels) each, for a global total 24,000 m ³ (149,000 barrels).

LP Gas does not have a continuity of service inventory of the same level as diesel, gasoline and Jet A.1, which requires a higher frequency of shipments than the rest of the products.

Continuing the concentration of inventories in the province of Limón does not solve the problem that LP Gas presents in its supply chain, since it is a product with a high risk of shortages, due to the vulnerability of the final distribution system, this inasmuch as the supply of 100% of the demand is carried out through tanker trucks from the Moín Terminal, resulting in that the total supply of the Central Valley, North Zone and Pacific Zone must cross Route 32, which has a high accident rate and impact due to landslides and bad weather, which leads to the distribution chain being repeatedly stopped and tanker trucks traveling our roads daily, when a solution can be provided that implies a saving of at least 700 thousand km of travel for said vehicles, implying an annual saving of 8 million dollars in ground transportation costs.

Failure to ensure the supply will have an immense impact on the national GDP, the daily life of a low-income residential sector and small and medium industries, which do not have enough capital to be able to subsist on its substitute, electricity.

Failure to guarantee supply in a single day would affect Costa Rica's GDP with losses of US $ 68 million for gasoline; US $ 44 million in the case of diesel and US $ 44 million in LP Gas.

In addition to this situation, there is a series of adverse weather conditions linked to climate change, added to phenomena such as El Niño, which causes the presence of extreme events and the superposition of these phenomena together with increasing frequency: Niño, extraordinary tides and waves or storms, according to studies carried out in the Caribbean area by experts on the subject.

Hurricanes occur intermittently and with greater intensity each year, which has led to establish the possible impacts of these phenomena and identify possible risks of the structures in the area (dock, bridges, schools, road, etc.), which indicate that the project of having two ports for the entry of fuels to the country, is increasingly imperative.

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.

It should be noted that on many occasions due to bad weather in the Caribbean area, ships with product must wait in the Bay of Moín for several days until conditions allow a safe docking and disembarkation, which implies paying a fine of approximately $ 20 thousand a day. If the country had another option in the Pacific for the entry of products, this cost would be saved and it would be used as an entry point, strengthening Costa Rica's energy security.

The Pacific Terminal project will strengthen the National Fuel System, by increasing the storage capacity of LP Gas on the Pacific coast, which will ensure supply at all times, as the country has a supply from both the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Solid studies support the project

The project is supported by rigorous pre-investment studies, environmental studies and approved environmental feasibility, legal, economic and market studies, among others, in which the Maritime, Rivers and Estuaries Engineering Unit (iMARES) of the UCR participated, International Center for Economic Policy for Sustainable Development of the UNA, the Central American Institute of Public Administration, the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation, the National Emergency Commission, among others.

In addition, there are a series of studies to support the project that reduce uncertainty and risk, such as soil, oceanographic, bathymetric and topographic studies.

The Pacific Terminal is a country project, defined in the National Development Plan, therefore, it occurs within the framework of inter-institutional coordination with MOPT, INCOP, Municipalities, Coast Guard, among others, so that it is an articulated development of the country, which integrates any institution that in one way or another is involved in its development.

The tender poster has a precise chapter on acceptability, where the legal, financial, technical and management capacity of any company that wants to participate in the contest is evaluated, in addition to this, an evaluation of the experience is included so that the decision In the end, also consider the successful experience of those who pass the acceptability filter. In addition, a series of guarantees are established for the compliance, quality and correct operation of the project.

All studies can be analyzed by whoever wishes to do them and can be accessed through the following link: https://terminalpacifico.com/estudios/

Infrastructure works included in the project

The Terminal Pacífico project consists of the design, procurement and construction of a monobuoy-type offshore import system ( Single Point Mooring or SPM ), linked to two submarine pipelines of approximately 5.8 km, which are connected on land to a multi-pipeline and a gas pipeline, which discharges to the storage and sale facilities located in the Barranca Terminal.

Works would include a pumping station 1.1 km from the beach, which propels products for approximately 3.5 km from the station in Puntarenas to Terminal Barranca.

The storage terminal will have four pressurized sphere-type tanks for LP Gas of 3,975 m3 (25,000 barrels) each, loading bays for LP Gas, a diesel tank of 7,950 m3 (50,000 barrels) and auxiliary systems (pump room, fire fighting systems , others) and other works and equipment necessary for the import, storage and sale of LP Gas in said Terminal.

The refined products will be imported and stored making the most of the Barranca Terminal's own storage capacity; In such a way that for the receipt of imports there will be three existing diesel tanks of 7,950 m3 (50,000 barrels) and four new gasoline tanks of the same capacity, which are currently under design and their purpose is to replace the existing tanks that have reached the useful life threshold.

Benefits of the Terminal Pacífico project

The Terminal Pacífico project is a strategic project for energy security in Costa Rica. The main benefits are:

• It ensures continuity in the event that an emergency disables the import, storage and transfer from the Moín Terminal.
• Eliminate inventory centralization, which is strategically inconvenient.
• It prevents all distributors from having to travel to Limón to purchase the product in the case of LP Gas. It is estimated that daily in the country more than 30 tanks circulate to the facilities in Moín for the daily supply of LP Gas, these tanks, after making the purchase at the RECOPE facilities, travel the country supplying industries, bottling plants, hotels , restaurants, shops and residences.
• The country will have the necessary infrastructure to stimulate the use of LP Gas as an alternative fuel, thus contributing to the energy transition towards a decarbonized country, since it is a more environmentally friendly fuel than the Bunker or the heavy diesel used in the industry. or diesel for the heavy cargo and passenger transport sector.
• Having a supply option for the Pacific would avoid a possible shortage of these products in the event of a fortuitous event of earthquake, flood, hurricane or other natural or force majeure event such as civil disturbance, blockade and sabotage, among others, that renders the facilities in the Terminal Moín.