Saudi Arabia’s 4th Strategic Oil Storage Facility Set

Saudi Arabia’s fourth strategic petroleum storage facility is now ready in Madinah. Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Majed, governor of the region, will open the facility tomorrow on behalf of Crown Prince Sultan, chairman of the Saudi Strategic Storage Program (SSSP).

The Madinah storage site was formally handed over to Saudi Aramco in February this year. As many as four million metric tons of rock have been removed to establish the facility whose underground tunnel has a length of 30 kms. Some 130,000 steel bars, 600,000 metric meters of reinforced concrete, 70,000 tons of iron, 150 kms of pipes, 3,000 kms of electric cables and 177 kms of optical fiber cables have been used to build the facility.
Al-Sayegh emphasized the significance of the strategic petroleum storage program as petroleum represents the backbone of a country’s economic power and plays an important role in times of peace. “It becomes a rare commodity in the time of war,” he pointed out. Enemies often target petroleum facilities during wars.

“Any halt in the supply of petroleum will affect economic growth, weaken military machinery and affect civilian facilities such as hospitals, industries and agriculture,” the SSSP chief pointed out. Keeping in mind this strategic importance, the government decided to establish five storage facilities in various parts of the country. “The facility can preserve petroleum for a long period without any changes taking place in either its nature or chemistry. Tests conducted on petroleum stored in the facilities have proved that they are safe.”

Arab News