October 2009 Vol. 236 No. 10

Projects

Tesoro Moves First Oil Through Reversed Panama Pipeline

Tesoro Corporation says the first barrels of crude oil have been shipped through the reversed 81-mile Petroterminal de Panamá (PTP) trans-Panamanian pipeline from the Atlantic Ocean side of the Isthmus to the Pacific. This reversal establishes a new conduit for the flow of crude from the Atlantic Basin to the Pacific and will enable Tesoro to source a broader range of crude oils to supply its Pacific Rim refining system. Doug Koskie, vice president of Arbitrage Trading, Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company, said, “In addition to exposing Tesoro to an array of crude oils typically marketed in the Atlantic Basin, our abilities to utilize the tankage dedicated for Tesoro’s exclusive use at PTP and the reversed pipeline are expected to afford our company strategic advantages related to freight, storage, blending, and delivery scheduling optimization.”

The first oil through the pipeline is Castilla Blend crude sourced from Colombia which Tesoro will process at its refineries in California.