DistantNews
Support us
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Energy & Infrastructure

Panama buys full ownership of trans-isthmus oil pipeline for nearly $192 million

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Official statement Approved/passed
  • Panama paid $191.7 million for the 41% stake in Petroterminal de Panamá still held by private investors.
  • The 131-kilometre pipeline connects Chiriquí Grande on the Atlantic coast with Puerto Armuelles on the Pacific and transports about 10 million barrels of hydrocarbons monthly.
  • The government said operations and staffing would continue without interruption under the existing management contract.

Panama has taken full ownership of Petroterminal de Panamá after paying $191.7 million for the 41% stake held by private investors. The acquisition gives the government control of an oil pipeline stretching between the country’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

The 131-kilometre system runs from Chiriquí Grande in Bocas del Toro to Puerto Armuelles in Chiriquí. According to the company’s website, it transports about 10 million barrels of hydrocarbons each month. Hundreds of oil tankers load and unload more than 100 million barrels of crude each year for shipment to Asian markets and the west coast of the Americas.

Petroterminal de Panamá was founded in the late 1970s as a mixed public-private venture. It was developed and managed by NIC Holding Corp., a Melville, New York-based company involved in hydrocarbon storage, distribution and marketing, in partnership with the Republic of Panama.

Panama’s Ministry of Economy and Finance called the purchase a strategic decision intended to promote growth, create jobs and open new opportunities, particularly in the western provinces of Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro. The ministry said the pipeline, together with the Panama Canal, gives the country a major logistical advantage and could expand economic activity and strengthen Panama’s position in regional trade and logistics.

The government said nationalization would not interrupt operations. Employees will remain in their positions under the current management contract, preserving the experience and capabilities built over nearly five decades. Economy and Finance Minister Felipe Chapman said ownership would change, but the way the operation functions would not.

What changes is the ownership, not the way the operation is carried out. Our commitment is to preserve and increase the value built, maintain operational excellence and guarantee the highest standards of safety, reliability and environmental responsibility, just as the country has achieved with the Canal.

· Felipe ChapmanPanama’s economy and finance minister described how the government expects the pipeline to operate after the acquisition.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog