The new ultra-modern Liquid Bulk Terminal (LBT) at the Port of Takoradi is expected to receive its maiden liquid bulk cargo tanker vessel at the end of June 2021 without any hindrance.
At a stakeholder engagement with petroleum downstream patrons before the start of operations at the Terminal, Capt. Ebenezer Afadzi said: “even though the new LBT was commissioned late last year by the Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, this critical final step of briefing/consultation with petroleum downstream stakeholders could not be held due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with its attendant restrictions on public gatherings.”
Participants at the engagement included representatives of bulk oil distribution companies (BDCs), oil marketing companies (OMCs), shipping agents, the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (financier of the LBT project), Marshall Oil & Gas Services (an IbisTek subsidiary and operators of the new LBT), the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) as well as the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA).
Already, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) conducted three rounds of inspections on the terminal including its distribution pipelines and gave the greenlight, paving the way for the arrival of the maiden vessel.
Thematic issues that came up for discussion during the sessions included accurate metering/determination of cargo volumes, volume temperature compensation and billing, handling of pipeline displacement losses, pipeline size synchronization and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
The rest are safety/security of vessels, product contamination liability/insurance, operating permits, applicable standards for calculation of quantities, pipeline condition (emptiness/fullness) determination prior to discharge, slop tanks inspection/draining before and after discharge, among others.
The new LBT project, when operational upon the arrival of the maiden tanker vessel, will become the deepest drafted LBT along the west coast of Africa; thus, positioning the Port of Takoradi as an essential and cost-efficient logistical support for the supply of liquid bulk cargoes such as petrol, diesel, LPG, bitumen among others.
