Chemical firm builds Jebel Ali tank farm
Petrochem Carless is expanding its distribution facilites in the UAE.
01 January 2002
Petrochem Carless is building its own tank farm in Dubai, UAE, in a Dh12.5 million ($3.4 million) expansion.
The project involves construction of six tanks with a combined capacity of 7,500 cu m in Jebel Ali.
When completed, the tanks will store flammable chemicals, which will be imported from the jetty by pipeline. The facility will also have tanker loading/offloading arrangements.
The tanks will be protected by a deluge system in the event of a fire. The entire tank farm will be monitored by a PLC-based Scada (supervisory control and data acquisition) system complete with an emergency shut down (ESD) system.
An expanded product range and the highest levels of customer service are the principal factors behind an impressive forecasted turnover increase at Petrochem Carless.
The company - formerly known as Petrochem Middle East and now a joint venture with Petrochem Carless of the UK - expected a turnover of Dh240 million ($65 million) last year from Dh182 million in 2000, according to a company official.
The company has one of the most modern distribution terminals in Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafz), which is at the centre of a complete chemical connection that offers a worldwide solution to chemicals.
The 30,000 sq m terminal was commissioned in 1999 and has a capacity to store 25,000 drums - mostly various solvents - and 700 tonnes of dry chemicals.
The chemicals stored at the facility are classified and stored at different locations based on their flammability characteristics.
Petrochem Carless offers a wide variety of chemicals suitable for the paint, coating, oilfield and detergent industries, and is an exclusive distributor to blue-chip companies such as Sasol Solvents, Lyondell, Total Cray Valley, Kao Chemicals and Eternal Buana Chemicals.
With its own in-house logistics department Ñ which works alongside the operations team Ñ the company says it is able to ensure that its products are delivered anywhere, any time, on time.
From the Jebel Ali central storage facility, chemicals are distributed to more than 17 countries throughout the world.
Saudi Arabia is the company's largest market, representing some 32 to 35 per cent of exports, according to the official.
The company takes special care in the storage of low-flash chemicals.
The terminal has an elaborate firefighting arrangement and the area is well covered by smoke detectors. Fire alarms will be activated in case of fire detection. The alarms are connected directly to the Jafza fire station.
Stuffing and destuffing of containers in the terminal is done by means of forklifts, which are fitted with spark arrestors, another feature unique to Petrochem, according to the official.
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