The Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (Hebrew: חברת קו צינור אילת אשקלון בע"מ (קצא”א), also known as the Europe Asia Pipeline Company and by the acronym EAPC) operates several crude petroleum and refined petroleum products pipelines in Israel, most notably the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline – which transports crude oil across southern Israel, between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The EAPC also operates two maritime oil terminals as well as oil storage depots in the country.
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1968 |
| Headquarters | Ashkelon, 78101 , Israel |
Area served | Israel |
| Website | www.eapc.co.il |
The company was originally formed in 1968 as a 50/50% joint venture between Israel and Iran (during the Shah's rule) to transport crude oil shipped from Iran to Europe.[1][2] However, Israel nationalized the company following the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the subsequent severing of relations between the two countries. In 2015, a Swiss court ordered Israel to pay Iran $1.1 billion in compensation for this, which it refused to do, arguing that this was prohibited by its Trading with the Enemy Act.[3]
The services of the EAPC are: transporting crude oil and refined products, long term storage, crude oil blending, processing of liquefied petroleum gas, fuel oil, distillates and gas.
Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company is one of Israel's most secretive companies. According to the Financial Times, "EAPC has operated since its founding under a blanket state decree that shrouds its affairs in secrecy. Israel says the decree was issued for reasons relating to national security."[4]
History
edit
- 1956: "Afike Neft" (Crude Oil Channel) founded to transport crude oil from Sinai to Haifa
- 1957: construction of 3 oil tanks in Eilat, 20 cm (8") Ø pipeline from Eilat to Beer-Sheva, 3 oil tanks in Beer-Sheva, trains transport crude oil to Haifa, later construction of a 40 cm (16") Ø pipeline from Beer-Sheva to Ashdod and transportation by ship to Haifa
- 1959: construction of a 40 cm (16") Ø pipeline from Eilat to Haifa
- 1966: construction of the storage facility Ramat Yotam, Eilat; Jetty 1; booster station in Paran
- 1968: EAPC established, construction of a 106 cm (42") Ø pipeline from Eilat to Ashkelon, terminal and port in Ashkelon
- 1973: storage in Eilat expanded to 1.1 Mio. m3, in Ashkelon to 1.3 Mio. m3, additional booster station in Yotvata, 45 cm (18") Ø pipeline from Ashkelon to Ashdod
- 1996: construction of a sea and land terminal for fuel oil in Ashkelon
- 1998: construction of a modern LPG terminal
- 1999: joint venture EAPC and Petroleum & Energy Infrastructures Ltd. (PEI), distillates unloaded in Ashkelon und distributed/pumped by PEI
- 2000: marine services in Ashkelon moved to the Israel Electric Company's (IEC) Rutenberg Power Station's coal jetty
- 2002: conversion of storage tanks for distillates, filling station for tanker lorries
- 2003: reverse flow project finished (which allows Russian oil delivered by tankers to Ashkelon, reloaded onto tankers in Eilat for shipment to Asia)
- 2004: modern filling plant for LPG cylinders
- 2020: agreement reached with the UAE to transport Emirati oil from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.
Pipelines
editCrude oil pipelines
edit- Eilat port - Ashkelon port (Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline), 254 km, Ø 106 cm (42"), max 60 Mio. tons per year, 3 booster stations (Yotvata, Paran, Mashabei Sadeh)
- Ashkelon port - Haifa Refinery at Haifa port, 197 km, Ø 40 cm (16/18"), 3 pumping stations (Givati, Glilot, Hadera), max 5.5 Mio. tons per year
- Ashkelon port - Ashdod Refinery, 36 km, Ø 40 cm (18/16"), max 7 Mio. tons per year
Products pipeline
edit- Eilat port - Giv'ati - Haifa refinery, 260 km, Ø 40 cm (16"), distillates (gasoline, jet fuel, gasoil)
The bidirectional reverse flow project
editThis project reversed the flow direction of Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline oil - meaning that it can now also flow southwards instead of only northwards, as originally conceived when Israel consumed Iranian oil. The idea behind the project is to transport crude oil from Russia, Central Asian republics and the Caucasus through the Black Sea or the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to Southern Asia and the Far East at a competitive price. The capacity and size of the Suez Canal is limited and therefore expensive.
- Ashkelon port - Eilat port, 254 km, Ø 106 cm (42"), max 20 Mio. tons per year, 2 booster stations
Oil ports
edit- Eilat, storage capacity 1.2 Mio. m3, for tankers up to 500,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT), 16 storage tanks
- Ashkelon, storage capacity 1.5 Mio. m3, for tankers up to 300,000 DWT, 22 storage tanks
See also
edit- Iran–Israel relations
- Nahal Zin fuel leak from an EAPC pipeline, 2011 ecological disaster
References
edit- ^ Ammann, Daniel (2009). The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich. New York: St. Martin‘s Press. ISBN 0-312-57074-0.
- ^ Bialer, Uri. Fuel Bridge across the Middle East—Israel, Iran, and the Eilat-Ashkelon Oil Pipeline. In: Israel Studies, Vol 12, No 3 (Fall 2007)
- ^ "Report: Swiss Court Orders Israel to Pay Iran $1.1 Billion in Oil Pipeline Dispute". Haaretz. May 20, 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ Reed, John (26 January 2016). "Israel: Oil secrets to spill". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 May 2022.