Pascuales-Cuenca Pipeline
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Pascuales-Cuenca Pipeline is an operating NGL and refined oil products pipeline in Ecuador.[1]
Location
The pipeline runs from the Pascuales Station in Guayas to the Cuenca Terminal in Azuay.[2]
Project details
- Operator: EP Petroecuador[1]
- Owner: EP Petroecuador[1]
- Parent company: EP Petroecuador[1]
- Capacity:
- Length: 210 km[1]
- Diameter: 10, 8 inches[3]
- Status: Operating (LPG transport had to be suspended in 2018 due to infrastructural problems in the LPG terminal)[1][4][5]
- Start year: 2013 (Construction), 2016 operating[6][4]
- Cost: US$623 million[4]
- Financing:
- Associated infrastructure:
Background
The construction of the Pascuales-Cuenca pipeline began in 2013.[4] The pipeline was planned to be finished in 2015, but due to delays it began operations in 2016, 12 months after the planned start date.[4] As with construction time, final construction costs exceeded the planned budget, from an expected US$272 million to US$623 million.[4] The pipeline was built by Odebrecht to supply LPG and refined oil products from Guayaquil to southern Ecuador.[4]
Infrastructure problems and lawsuits
A few months after the pipeline began operating, the LPG terminal in Cuenca began exhibiting problems with its infrastructure.[4] Shortly after, in 2018, Petroecuador had to suspend the shipment of LPG from the terminal.[4][5] In 2020, Ecuador sued Odebrecht for US$281 million for infrastructural problems with the Pascuales-Cuenca pipeline, after having determined, in 2019, that the construction didn't comply with international standards for its operation.[4] In turn, the Brazilian company sued the Ecuadorian State for US$174 million for its unilateral breach of contract.[4]
As of 2021, an article reported that Petroecuador had spent US$90 million to avoid the collapse of the Cuenca terminal and the Pascuales-Cuenca pipeline, which was said to have a "high risk of total collapse", according to a report published by the Government's Accountability Office.[6]
In 2023, the terminal's two 170-tonne LPG spheres were considered an immediate risk, so Petroecuador began works to move them to the El Chorrillo LPG terminal in the Province of Guayas.[4] The cost of their removal and transfer is estimated to be US$20.6 million.[4] As of February 2023, Petroecuador had 510 days to complete the spheres' transfer to the Guayas terminal.[4][5]
After the removal of the LPG storage spheres, Petroecuador must complete a study to determine the damage to the terminal's soils and groundwater, followed by remediation and water treatment operations.[4]
As of 2023, the Pascuales-Cuenca pipeline was working at 83% of its capacity.[4]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 EP Petroecuador (July 2023). "Plan General de Negocios, Expansión e Inversión de EP Petroecuador 2023" (PDF). EP Petroecuador. Retrieved Februrary 26, 2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ EP Petroecuador (2016). "Poliducto Pascuales Cuenca" (PDF). EP Petroecuador. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 EP Petroecuador (March 2020). "Plan General de Negocios, Expansión e Inversión 2020" (PDF). Retrieved February 26, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 "Desmontar esferas del poliducto Pascuales-Cuenca cuesta USD 20 millones". Primicias (in español). Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "El Terminal de Productos Limpios Cuenca despacha con normalidad los combustibles para atender la demanda de la zona sur del país – EP PETROECUADOR" (in español). Retrieved 2024-02-27.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "$ 90 millones para evitar el colapso del Poliducto Pascuales-Cuenca". www.expreso.ec. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
