The Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Mrs Natasa Pilides, and the Mayor of Larnaca, Mr Andreas Vyras, visited Petrolina’s facilities at the Larnaka -Dekelia road and confirmed the advanced stage of the dismantling and demolition of the company’s fuel storage facilities, on March 18th. 

Initially, the dismantling operations started with the demolition of Petrolina’s largest fuel tank in Cyprus, in May 2018, and continued immediately after with the transfer of its fuel operation services to the company’s own, state-of-the-art facilities at Vassiliko, on 1 January 2020.

The demolition operations at the Larnaka – Dekelia premises are already at an advanced stage and are expected to be completed in the upcoming three months. A total of 19 tanks will be dismantled, of a total capacity of approximately 40,000 cubic meters. In addition to the fuel tanks, the various support facilities, offices, and warehouses will also be dismantled.

Petrolina has already completed the dismantling and removal of the piping network, the cabling installations of all tanks, and the pumping station.

The dismantling and removal of the sub-sea pipelines for oil and gas will follow as well, as the relevant permits have been issued.

The Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Mrs Natasa Pilides, welcomed the second phase of the dismantling of Petrolina’s facilities in Larnaca, acknowledging the substantial progress made, one that is already evident to the citizens of Larnaca. “The entire procedure is extremely important, and we would like to congratulate the company for its continued efforts and for its commitment to the facilities’ relocation program.”

The Mayor of Larnaca, Mr Andreas Vyras, described the day as historic, as Petrolina’s facilities have been synonymous to Cyprus’ and the city’s economic wellbeing as they offered employment to many citizens of Larnaca. He thanked Petrolina for its strict adherence to the agreed timeframes and noted that “the dismantling will help the development of the city towards the new Larnaca we envisioned, and Petrolina is a strong ally to this effort”.

Mr Dinos Lefkaritis, Executive Managing Director (CEO) of Petrolina (Holdings) Public Ltd, said that “for us, this is an emotional and historic day, because these facilities were built in 1960 by our fathers”. He also pointed out that the dismantling effort started in 2018, with the demolition of the largest tank ever built in Cyprus. “Today, we are in the final stages of the removal of the tanks” he clarified. “This area, of about 2 kilometres of beachfront, will very soon be transformed into something different, into a tourist attraction”, pledging that Petrolina, “will help in this effort, with our own contribution to its development”.

It is also noteworthy that in early 2017 Petrolina led the way, in cooperation with the Larnaca Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EVEL) and in coordination with the Larnaca Municipality and the five affected oil and gas companies, in appointing internationally acknowledged consultants for the preparation of proposals and studies to the Urban Planning department, which would help shape the developmental parameters of the area.

Petrolina’s terminal at Vassiliko, an investment of around €80 million, consists of 18 tanks, with total capacity of 113,000 cubic meters of all types of liquid fuels, which is 77,000 cubic meters more than the capacity of its old facilities along the Larnaca-Dekelia road.

The demolition of Petrolina’s facilities in Larnaca is of historic significance, since their construction started in 1959 and concluded in 1960, the year marking the beginnings of the first Cypriot petroleum company.