The Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (Hebrew: חברת קו צינור אילת אשקלון בע"מ (קצא”א), also known as the Europe Asia Pipeline Company and by the acronym EAPC) operates several crude petroleum and refined petroleum products pipelines in Israel, most notably the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline – which transports crude oil across southern Israel, between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The EAPC also operates two maritime oil terminals as well as oil storage depots in the country.
The company was originally formed in 1968 as a 50/50% joint venture between Israel and Iran (during the Shah's rule) to transport crude oil shipped from Iran to Europe.[1][2] However, Israel nationalized the company following the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the subsequent severing of relations between the two countries. In 2015, a Swiss court ordered Israel to pay Iran $1.1 billion in compensation for this, which it refused to do, arguing that this was prohibited by its Trading with the Enemy Act.[3]
Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company is one of Israel's most secretive companies. According to the Financial Times, "EAPC has operated since its founding under a blanket state decree that shrouds its affairs in secrecy. Israel says the decree was issued for reasons relating to national security."[4]
History
sign for Jetty 2 in EilatJetty 2 in Eilatone of the storage tanks of the Ramat-Yotam tankfarm
1956: "Afike Neft" (Crude Oil Channel) founded to transport crude oil from Sinai to Haifa
1957: construction of 3 oil tanks in Eilat, 20 cm (8") Ø pipeline from Eilat to Beer-Sheva, 3 oil tanks in Beer-Sheva, trains transport crude oil to Haifa, later construction of a 40 cm (16") Ø pipeline from Beer-Sheva to Ashdod and transportation by ship to Haifa
1959: construction of a 40 cm (16") Ø pipeline from Eilat to Haifa
1966: construction of the storage facility Ramat Yotam, Eilat; Jetty 1; booster station in Paran
1968: EAPC established, construction of a 106 cm (42") Ø pipeline from Eilat to Ashkelon, terminal and port in Ashkelon
1973: storage in Eilat expanded to 1.1 Mio. m3, in Ashkelon to 1.3 Mio. m3, additional booster station in Yotvata, 45 cm (18") Ø pipeline from Ashkelon to Ashdod
1996: construction of a sea and land terminal for fuel oil in Ashkelon
Ashkelon port - Haifa Refinery at Haifa port, 197 km, Ø 40 cm (16/18"), 3 pumping stations (Givati, Glilot, Hadera), max 5.5 Mio. tons per year
Ashkelon port - Ashdod Refinery, 36 km, Ø 40 cm (18/16"), max 7 Mio. tons per year
Products pipeline
Eilat port - Giv'ati - Haifa refinery, 260 km, Ø 40 cm (16"), distillates (gasoline, jet fuel, gasoil)
The bidirectional reverse flow project
This project reversed the flow direction of Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline oil - meaning that it can now also flow southwards instead of only northwards, as originally conceived when Israel consumed Iranian oil. The idea behind the project is to transport crude oil from Russia, Central Asian republics and the Caucasus through the Black Sea or the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to Southern Asia and the Far East at a competitive price. The capacity and size of the Suez Canal is limited and therefore expensive.
Ashkelon port - Eilat port, 254 km, Ø 106 cm (42"), max 20 Mio. tons per year, 2 booster stations
Oil ports
Eilat, storage capacity 1.2 Mio. m3, for tankers up to 500,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT), 16 storage tanks
Ashkelon, storage capacity 1.5 Mio. m3, for tankers up to 300,000 DWT, 22 storage tanks
