Our Ras Tanura terminal is one of the world's largest crude oil terminals and a key component of our reputation as the world's most reliable supplier of petroleum.
The Ras Tanura Terminal is located on a peninsula, the southern end of which forms a sand spit. The tip of this spit is officially known as Ras Tanura.
Ras Tanura Terminal consists of the South Pier, the North Pier and the Sea Islands.
Construction of the most recent of these facilities, Sea Island # 4, was completed in the mid-1970s.
The South Pier
South Pier is the facility where Saudi crude was first loaded onto the tanker D. G. Scofield in May, 1939. It is located 700 meters from shore on the Arabian Gulf and consists of four berths capable of serving tankers up to 45,000 DWT. This facility is mothballed.
The North Pier
North Pier is located at the east side of the peninsula and has a causeway and trestle that extends approximately 1.5 kilometers. The facility is comprised of six berths (6 to 11).
Crude oil, products and refined liquid petroleum gases (RLPG) are available at North Pier. The pier is 870 meters long and 33 meters wide. Water depth varies from 12 to 15 meters at low tide, depending on the berth. North Pier is designed to accommodate ships up to 135,000 DWT.
The Sea Islands
The Ras Tanura Sea Islands are a complex of man-made islands, interconnected by walkways located approximately one mile north east from the North Pier. In total, there are four Sea Islands, which stretch northward in a single line formation, over a distance of approximately 1.7 kilometers.
Every Sea Island rests on piles at a water depth of approximately 26 meters at low tide. Each Sea Island consists of a loading station and two berths having four to six mooring dolphins and two to four breasting dolphins per berth. Sea Island #1, the oldest of the four islands, was commissioned in 1967 and is currently isolated and abandoned in place.
The three active Sea Islands provide berths for six ships simultaneously up to 500,000 DWT for crude oil and bunker cargo. Seven crude and two bunker submarine pipelines ranging in size from 20" to 48" diameter are used to deliver crude and/or fuel oil to the six operational berths.
