AFTER breaking ground in April 2022, Orion Engineered Carbons (OEC) officially unveiled its Tank Farm Project in Zone 7 of the Coega Special Economic Zone just 30 months later, on 3 October 2024.
The storage facility was relocated after the company had to close its Dom Pedro tank farm in the Port of Port Elizabeth. The tank farm includes two 18,000 m3 tanks. Each tank comprises 80 shell plates, totalling 19,2 metres in height and weighing a total mass of 289 tons per tank.
The facility is equipped with modern infrastructure, including a 5.4-kilometre pipeline from the Port of Ngqura to the facility. Cutting-edge technology ensures efficient operations and strict adherence to environmental regulations.
The state-of-the-art tank farm enables the transportation of black feedstock oil from the port for subsequent storage and use in the production of carbon black, a crucial ingredient in the manufacture of tyres and various high-performance applications.
Last month, the first full vessel, carrying 30,000 tonnes of carbon black oil was delivered to the tank farm. The load was successfully offloaded, and OEC is currently drawing oil from the tanks via the transfer station for processing.
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) supported the greenfields project with R273 million in funding and OEC has invested R340 million in the new facility.
The Tank Farm Project was enabled by the successful collaboration between the Coega Development Corporation, the DTIC, the Eastern Cape government and the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and Transnet National Ports Authority.
Corning Painter, Orion CEO, commended the successful collaboration: “We are grateful for the successful collaboration and support from our partners in South Africa. The tank farm enables Orion to continue operating as a critical link in the supply chain for the country’s tyre industry.”
