October began a new era for Western Region Distribution. That's when, for the first time in Saudi Aramco's history, a 670-ton offshore loading platform crossed the Red Sea on a barge. The platform traveled 160 nautical miles from Egypt's Port Jebel al-Zayt, coming to rest at Duba Bulk Plant on Saudi Arabia's northern Red Sea coast. The 40- by 20-meter platform - with three multi-product loading arms, a hydraulic gangway, five fire-water pumps, a 6-meter observation tower and control room, and a mooring system - was floated onto the Petroleum Marine Services 46 barge and maneuvered in the 200-meter water toward the fixed jetty, using a single tug boat. The platform was gently placed on the prebuilt piles at Duba Bulk Plant without incident, according to a press release of Saudi Aramco. The giant structure will be used to offload gasoline, diesel and kerosene - also known as white products - to supply the northern part of the Kingdom, from Duba to Tabuk, Turaif and al-Jouf. --MORE 1400 Local Time 1100 GMT
