The Costa Rican state electricity and fuel companies have agreed to build a terminal for the supply of bunker fuel.
From a press release by RECOPE :
The Costa Rican Petroleum Refinery (RECOPE SA) and the Instituto Costarricensede Electricidad (ICE), have pledged to work together in developing the Pacific Terminal project, which will allow the country to have another alternative way to import fuel which will strengthen RECOPE’s value chain in infrastructure and reduces the risk of shortages, as well as providing an alternative supply of bunker fuel for consumption centers on the Pacific coast, in particular for electricity generation in the Garabito thermal plant.
The country is to invest $300 million in installing new storage tanks for bunker and other oil derivatives.
The new tanks will enable Panama to double its storage capacity from 5 million barrels now to 10 million in 2014.
Wilfredo Jordán's article for Prensa.com comments that, "according to studies, for every four ships that pass through the canal, only one refuels at Panamanian facilities".
In April, Costa Rica's state-owned petrol company Recope will invite bids for the construction project.
Regarding its petrol infrastructure, the main goal of the company is to increase storage capacity to 320.000 thousand barrels in the next three years.
To achieve it, the company will invest $36 million in a series of projects to be developed in several of its distribution and storage centers in Costa Rica.
The Panama Pacific Special Area Agency is inviting companies to bid for the construction of a fuel facility at Howard Airport.
The contract includes the design, soil study, adjustments, construction, supply, installation, assembly, testing and final approved plans for a fuel system, auxiliary systems and all its components for storage and supply of aircraft at Howard airport.
The multinational claims to have a long-term plan for investments in the country.
Carlos Reyes, general manager of Texaco in El Salvador, told La Prensa Gráfica, "It is true that we are going to leave the service station business, our strategy is to make the sale of fuel a profitable business for both Texaco and for Salvadoran entrepreneurs working with us.”
U.S. corporation Chevron agreed to sell its assets in Central America and the Antilles to Vitogaz.
The sale includes a network of 174 Texaco service stations, a stake in a refinery, terminals and aviation facilities as well as Chevron's commercial operation in the region.
The transaction, which amount was not disclosed, should be completed during the third quarter of 2011, after approval by local authorities.
Recope bought 22 hectares of land in Guanacaste for building a new fuel terminal.
Costa Rica's state-owned oil refinery (Recope) will build a new fuel terminal in the province of Guanacaste, close to Liberia's Airport. It will be named 'Terminal Chorotega'.
"The terminal includes 2 diesel tanks for 25.000 barrels of diesel, 4 gasoline tanks for 25.000 barrels, 3 jet fuel tanks of 40.000 barrels and 2 tanks for 5.000 barrels of ethanol", reported Thecostaricanews.com.