On Friday July 28, 2023, the Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy, Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly, commissioned the new 4,000-ton A41 sphere of the company Gestion des stocks pétroliers de Côte d'Ivoire (GESTOCI), at the Abidjan-Vridi oil terminal.
The commissioning of the new sphere increases the state-owned oil company's storage capacity to 10,000 tonnes, according to its Managing Director, Ibrahima Doumbia.
He recalled that investments to increase storage capacity began in 1983 with the creation of two 1000-ton spheres, then in 2014 with the commissioning of the 2000-ton A21 sphere, in February 2021 with the completion of the 2000-ton A22 sphere, and today with the commissioning of the 4000-ton A41 sphere.
"It's a real comfort when it comes to managing butane stocks. That's why the whole of GESTOCI is particularly pleased with the commissioning of this new sphere, which will undoubtedly reduce our stress as operators", enthused Mr. Doumbia, who was joined by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ms. Madelaine Oulaï, and the Deputy General Manager, Ms. Nina Kamara.
He noted that this great challenge had been made possible thanks to the support of the supervisory authorities and the Board of Directors, in order to increase storage capacity to meet the twofold requirement of satisfying the ever-increasing demand for petroleum products on the one hand, and ensuring a safety stock in line with regulatory obligations on the other, while continuing to modernize depots to bring them up to international standards.
Faced with strong demand for gas, expected to reach 930,000 to 1,000,000 tonnes by 2030, compared with consumption of 560. 000 tonnes in 2022, he announced that GESTOCI is currently preparing major investments, notably the construction of two spheres of 2,000 tonnes each at its Bouaké site, a 2,000-tonne sphere at the Yamoussoukro depot, 2,000 tonnes at San-Pedro, and a 2,000-tonne sphere at Ferkessédougou, to bring butane gas even closer to the people and countries of the hinterland, Mali and Burkina.
The Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy, Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly, promised to stand by this state-owned company as it pursues its planned investments to enable Côte d'Ivoire to achieve its goal of having at least two months' storage autonomy.
He used the occasion to urge people to stop using butane gas to fuel the engines of cabs and private cars, warning that such practices are strictly forbidden.
Created on September 14, 1983, GESTOCI's mission is to store hydrocarbons in quality and quantity to build up security stocks, on behalf of private national and non-national operators, to deliver petroleum products to authorized distributors, and to manage and maintain the installations, equipment and materials required for operations.