KARACHI, June 12: Byco Terminals Pakistan Limited (BTPL) has achieved mechanical completion of country’s first Single Point Mooring (SPM) Buoy facility for offloading imported crude oil and petroleum products.

The facility will allow the handling of imported crude oil and other petroleum products through the SPM – an open sea anchorage with sub-sea and sub soil pipelines connecting it to the on-shore facilities, a Byco press release said.

The SPM has been set up in the North Arabian Sea at a distance of approximately 14 km from the Byco's Mouzakund Site located at Hub, Balochistan. The facility is strategically located to feed the two Byco Refineries at Hub apart from acting as an alternate strategic port in case such a requirement arises. The design of the SPM caters for an additional pipeline for import/export of petroleum products.

According to Byco’s press release, the SPM facility with a draft of more than 25 metres will allow mooring of larger crude and product carriers, which will not only result into lower administrative costs but will also bring in substantial savings on account of difference in freight charges, thus giving the SPM facility a strategic advantage and savings to the national exchequer.

Presently the petroleum products are being imported through Karachi and Bin Qasim Ports. However, both these ports have draft limitations and cannot accommodate larger ships then the ones which call at these ports currently.

The company initiated development of country’s first SPM Buoy facility for offloading crude oil and petroleum products in January this year with the help of a world renowned port facility development company, China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC).