The development of a tank farm for the storage of oil, gas and other petrochemical products will be a critical component of the Cato Ridge Dry Port.
According to spokesman Bheki Mathe, the dry port will serve as the `back of port` facility for the Port of Durban providing additional storage facilities to ease the port’s capacity shortfalls.
“Tank farms are vital for the country’s industry as well as for the government, especially if they are used as a `strategic petroleum reserve’ that cushions price fluctuation in oil, petrol and gas - or serve as a port of call in times of scarcity of these products,” he said. “This means that should the flow of oil or petrol be completely cut off in the country, our tank farm can sustain our important stakeholders, like the truckers, for a considerable length of time. We will be well advised as South Africa to have several strategic assets like these to reduce the chances of having foreign countries enacting oil/petrol import cut-offs on the country.”
According to Mathe, they are currently in discussions with the energy regulatory authorities with respect to licences, permits and other environmental studies applicable to the bulk liquid industry. “We are also engaging with industry experts on issues of designs, construction and timelines. Market research is another crucial aspect that we have started working on to determine the demand and to identify our strategic target market. This will help inform the size/capacity and design of the tank farm we need to construct and the development timelines.”
