Pipeline Almost Finished
Within months the expansion of the "poliducto" (pipeline) by the Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (Recope) will be finished and in operation in the first half of 2007, as the state refinery begins to transport regular, super, diesel and aviation fuel products to its tanks in Alajuela and Cartago by the new pipeline.

Recope has been installing a new oil pipeline between its refinery in Moín, Limón and the storage tanks at Ochomogo, Cartago and Alajuela, for a total of 125 kilometres of pipeline of which only 10 kilometres remain to be installed.

Recope will have five stations for the gasoline products, three of which are pumping stations at Moín, Siquirres and Turrialba, the other two are receiving stations located in El Alto de Ochomogo, Cartago and La Garita in Alajuela.

The benefits of transporting the gasoline by pipeline is that less trucks on the road that will be carrying the highly flammable products as well as the cost of transport will be much lower and be passed on to consumers, Recope says.

William Ulate, manager of Comercio Internacional y Desarrollo de Recope, says that the new pipeline will double the Refinery's capacity, relieving the pressure of the saturated existing pipeline. With the new pipeline, Recope will be able to pump some 15 million litres per day, an amount that should take the state refinery into 2020, said Ulate.

José León Desanti, president Recope, added that the savings on transport will mean some ¢11 billion colones (us$21.4 million dollars) a year, which savings will be passed on to consumers at the pump.

The cost of the new pipeline is us$79 million dollars, of which us$60 million came from a loan by the Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica. Another us$30 million dollar loan was received by the Corporación de Fomento Andina (CAF).