The Lithuanian oil company Mazeikiu Nafta plans to build three additional oil storage tanks on the grounds of the Butinge oil terminal. The new tanks will each have a capacity of 50,000 cubic meters, the same as the existing tanks, local newspapers reported May 19.
The company's management board has yet to make a final decision on the installation of additional tanks, according to the daily newspaper Lietuvos Rytas.
The Butinge terminal includes a main onshore pipeline, which connects the Mazeikiai refinery and the terminal, a pump station located at Mazeikiai, terminal facilities and a tank farm in Butinge and an offshore pipeline.
The terminal needs new oil tanks to prevent delays that occur when stormy weather makes it impossible to pump crude oil onto tankers. Mazeikiu Nafta's pump station is stopped 12 to 15 times per year due to rough seas. Each time causes delays of five to six days on average.
Three new crude tanks would enable the company to minimize loss of revenue due to delays caused by bad weather and other factors.
Four potential construction contractors have submitted offers to build the tanks to Mazeikiu Nafta. They include the German company that constructed the Butinge terminal - PPS Pipeline Systems, formerly known as Preussag Wasser & Rohrtechnik.
In 2002, Butinge handled a total of 6.2 million tons of crude oil exports. Some 61 tankers were loaded at the terminal. Over the first four months of this year, export volumes reached nearly 4 million tons and the number of tankers loaded totaled 39.
The Russian oil firm Yukos owns a majority stake in Mazeikiu Nafta.
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