New crude oil lease automatic custody transfer (LACT) is nearing completion at CPC Marine Terminal
A major effort to build a new crude oil lease automatic custody transfer (LACT) is nearing completion at the Marine Terminal. The effort is implemented within the framework of the Debottlenecking Program aimed at increasing CPC pipeline throughput capacity to 82 million tons per year. Commissioning of the new LACT will let CPC lift oil from three single point moorings simultaneously, if needed.
On July 24, 2023, CPC General Director Nikolay Gorban jointly with representatives of the Operations Department and Construction Projects Department visited the Marine Terminal Tank Farm and Shore Facilities located in Glebovsky rural district (Novorossiysk municipality).
A working visit of CPC Management to the pipeline system facilities located in the Republic of Kalmykia, Stavropol Krai and Krasnodar Krai involved an inspection of oil storage and loading facilities, an unscheduled inspection of site operating and contractor personnel, and specialized equipment readiness to emergencies.
The Marine Terminal Tank Farm with a surface area of 160 ha and a total storage capacity of 1 million ton of oil is the largest operating facility of the CPC pipeline system, and one of the largest oil storage facilities in Russia. The tank farm is located in the mountain area, 9 km away from the sea, and is composed of 10 vertical steel floating roof tanks, with a capacity of 100,000 m3 each (VSFRT-100000).
VSFRT-100000 tanks are outfitted with automatic fire suppression system and installed onto leak proof multilayer foundations surrounded by reinforced concrete dykes capable of holding 120% of the contents of each tank. Floating roofs with rigid second seals prevent collection and emission of oil vapors into the atmosphere.
The Tank Farm treatment facilities represent a completely closed loop system, in which water treated to match fishery water body standards is not discharged into nearby water reservoirs, but is used in the firefighting system loop.
From the Tank Farm, oil is fed by gravity via a 1400 mm inter-site process piping to the Marine Terminal Shore Facilities, passes through LACT meters and pressure regulators to reach the subsea pipeline and eventually, the three single point moorings (SPMs). SPMs are located some 5 km offshore and are used to load crude oil to tankers. Oil lifting that involves a five-fold increase in the distance of the sanitary / protection zone stipulated by legislation can be performed at wave height up to 2.5 m.
During the visit to the Marine Terminal Tank Farm and Shore Facilities, the Head of the Consortium and representatives of functional departments inspected sites, administrative, utility and warehouse premises, fire stations and workshops, and monitored living conditions in DBNP construction contractor camps. The condition of equipment and systems, as well as the level of personnel professional qualifications were evaluated favorably.
Working meetings with the Marine Terminal facilities operating personnel reviewed items associated with further enhancement of Safe Work Culture and active engagement with contractors on matters of occupational health, industrial safety, and environmental protection.
CPC Pipeline System is one of the major investment projects with foreign capital in energy sector in the CIS. The length of the Tengiz – Novorossiysk pipeline is 1,511 km. This route transports over two-thirds of all Kazakhstan export crude, as well as crude from Russian oil fields, including those in the Caspian Region. CPC Marine Terminal is equipped with three Single Point Moorings (SPM) that allow safe loading of tankers at a significant distance offshore, also amid poor weather conditions.
CPC Shareholders: Federal Agency for State Property Management represented by Transneft (trust management) – 24%, CPC Company – 7%, KazmunayGas – 19%, Kazakhstan Pipeline Ventures LLC – 1.75%, Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Company – 15%, LUKARCO B.V. – 12.5%, Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company – 7.5%, Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures Limited – 7.5%, BG Overseas Holding Limited – 2%, Eni International N.A. N.V. S.ar.l. – 2% and Oryx Caspian Pipeline LLC – 1.75%.
