About 3.5 million barrels of crude oil have been transferred from the port of Neka in northern Iran to be used in Tehran and Tabriz refineries since the country resumed oil swap on August 3, the head of Iranian Oil Terminals Company said.
“Fortunately, after a gap of few years, oil swap has been resumed with the Caspian Sea littoral states, such that 71 vessels with different capacities discharged crude at Neka terminal’s storage reservoirs up until a month ago,” Pirouz Mousavi was also quoted as saying by IRNA on Monday.
Oil and gas company Dragon Oil, owned by Dubai-based Emirates National Oil Company, shipped an oil cargo from Turkmenistan to Neka Port in northern Iran on August 3 for swapping through the Persian Gulf, marking the first such operation by Iran since 2010.
Neka terminal has the capacity to swap 350,000 barrels of crude oil per day, yet it can increase to 500,000 as soon as the terminal is overhauled, officials say.
Mousavi noted that at present, Iran has swap deal with only one country, which number is planned to increase.
"As per the deals, Iran receives oil from the Caspian Sea littoral states in the north and delivers the same amount to southern neighboring countries via Kharg Oil Terminal in Hormozgan Province," he said.
The official noted that to accelerate the pace of oil exports, many plans, such as reconstruction of docks as well as laying ground and subsea pipelines, have been implemented in recent years.
About oil loading at Kharg terminal in the last fiscal year (ended March 20, 2018), Mousavi said that according to the Oil Ministry’s plan, close to 1,000 tankers berthed at the terminal last year.
"Currently, the terminal is so developed that nine huge vessels can berth simultaneously without any restrictions or technical problems, and ship-to-ship transfer can also be conducted if needed," he said, adding that the terminal has an oil loading capacity of 6 million barrels per day.
An STS operation is the transfer of cargo between seagoing ships positioned alongside, either while sailing or stationary. Cargo typically transferred via STS methods includes crude oil, liquefied natural gas, bulk cargo and petroleum products.
Most cargo movement takes place between a ship and a land-based terminal. However, it sometimes can be useful to transfer cargo from one ship to another in the open seas. One vessel operates as the terminal while the other is moored. Mousavi noted that a new loading arm has been constructed and installed in the terminal, which is due to be launched in the coming months.
