SBM relocation deadline raises industry concern

The Transnet demand that Durban’s single buoy mooring (SBM) – through which crude oil is imported – be relocated before the end of 2016 is leaving things “a bit tight”, according to Rodney Youldon, commercial manager of Sapref, the oil refinery jointly run by oil companies Shell and BP. The move is vital because the present SBM position would make it a hazard for shipping using the proposed new dig-out port, and also the pipeline connecting the buoy to the Sapref refinery runs right across the planned port entry channel. Also, this relocation is urgent, according to Noel Cronje, Transnet’s executive manager for planning support. If the SBM is not moved, Durban’s proposed dig-out port on the old Durban international airport site couldn’t be built within the project’s overall timeline. And it’s no matter of simply towing it off to a new location. The SBM is the entry point for some 80% of SA’s crude oil imports. And a new SBM has to be built and tested and ready for operation, before the current one can be shut-down. Sapref, however, is running in high gear on the project, with an engineering consulting firm currently trying to identify the best site for the new SBM. “They are looking at a number of different positions,” Youldon told FTW, “and different orientations to the port entry channel.” At a guess, he added, the new site is likely to be slightly (about a kilometre) to the south of the present, and close to the mouth of the Umlaas Canal cutting. Also, before construction can begin, an environmental impact study will have to be completed and accepted. And the immediate acceptance is no easy matter. In the South Durban communities there has already been heavyweight opposition to the dig-out port itself. And, with the popularity of the Umlaas Canal beach as an ideal diving and fishing spot, this SBM siting is also likely to be a target for some strong protest.