The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) says significant progress has been achieved on carbon black supplier Orion Engineered Carbon's (OEC's) oil tank project.

Carbon black has numerous industrial applications, including the production of rubber tyres, inks, dyes and paints, besides others.

It has been one year since the announcement of OEC’s investment in the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ), with the expected completion of the heavy fuel oil (HFO) storage facility scheduled for later this year.

“While the project has been progressing without any major incidents, it has faced its fair share of challenges due to adverse weather, with storm-category gale force winds over the 2023 Easter long weekend having resulted in damage to one of the tanks.

“With the wind, the lifting of each steel shell plate, 12 m long and 2.4 m high, with plate thickness varying from 20 mm to 8 mm, posed challenges to the contractor,” Coega project manager Christo Beukes said on June 6.

OEC MD Nomfundo Faltein said that communication between the parties had been good so far, with the open sharing of challenges and delays experienced during the project, with a view to promoting timely resolution and continued cooperation between all stakeholders involved.

“As Orion, we are grateful for the support received from the CDC. The continued existence of Orion in South Africa, supplying the rubber industries with carbon black, as well as maintaining the jobs in the supply chain, depends on this project,” Faltein said.

The OEC oil tank farm project has entailed the development of two 18 000 m³ tanks for the storage of carbon black feedstock oil, which is used in the manufacturing of tyres, among other high-performance applications. Each of the tanks has a total of 80 shell plates, totalling 19.2 m in height and weighing a total mass of 289 t per tank.

A 5.4 km pipeline from the Coega harbour to this new storage facility was also built to pump the HFO from cargo vessels docked offshore.

Once operational, the OEC oil tank farm project is expected to stimulate the entire value chain of the automotive sector and increase exports from South Africa to Europe. OEC imports raw materials from the US, does manufacturing in Nelson Mandela Bay, and exports high-grade carbon black, with 4 659 t exported in 2022.

Although there have been technical complexities required to implement the project, Coega has reported a total value of R11.17-million awarded to date in small, medium-sized and microenterprise contracts.

Further, 158 job opportunities were created, with more upcoming opportunities expected ahead of project completion.

The construction of the tanks required specialised skills and certified coded welders.

“Quality assurance of the works, especially all welding works, is key to ensuring that the final product meets all required standards and specifications. As Motherwell Councillors, we encourage any investment that seeks to advance and strengthen the Nelson Mandela Bay economy while generating jobs in the process,” Ward 59 Councillor Bulelani Matenjwa said.

“The presence of carbon black in multiple industry applications means that it forms part of many consumable products that are manufactured in several industries. Ultimately, carbon black possesses significant economic value, and may be viewed as catalytic in driving the country’s job creation and development goals,” Coega chief sustainability officer Telly Chauke added.

Beukes said the next big milestone was planned for end June.

“The two aluminium geodesic roof domes will be lifted into position by crane. However, absolute perfect weather conditions are required for this execution,” he said.