The Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC) operates several petroleum and petroleum products pipelines in Israel, most notably the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline. It also operates two oil terminal and 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 from Iran to Europe. After the Iranian Revolution 1979, Israel nationalized the company. In 2015 a Swiss court ordered Israel to pay Iran $1.1 billion compensation, which they refused to pay.
The services of EAPC are: transporting crude oil and refined products, long term storage, crude oil blending, processing of liquefied petroleum gas, fuel oil, destillates and gas.
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
1998: construction of a modern LPG terminal
1999: joint venture EAPC and PEI, distallates unloaded in Ashkelon und distributed/pumped by PEI (Petroleum and Energy Infrastructures Ltd.)
2000: marine services moved to IEC (Israel Electric Company), coal jetty for Rutenberg Power Station
2002: conversion of storage tanks for destillates, filling station for tanker lorries
2003: reverse flow project finished (Russian oil delivered by tankers to Ashkelon, reloaded onto tankers in Eilat for shipment to Asia)
2004: modern filling plant for LPG cylinders
Eilat port - Ashkelon port, 254 km, Ø 106 cm (42"), max 60 Mio. tons per year, 3 booster stations (Yotvata, Paran, Mashabei Sadeh)
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
Eilat port - Giv'ati - Haifa refinery, 260 km, Ø 40 cm (16"), distillates (gasoline, jet fuel, gasoil)
This project reversed the flow direction of Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline oil - meaning that it can now 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 Caucasus over the Black Sea and 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
Eilat, storage capacity 1.2 Mio. m3, for tankers up to 500'000 metric tons deadweight (DWT), 16 storage tanks
Ashkelon, storage capacity 1.5 Mio. m3, for tankers up to 300'000 DWT, 22 storage tanks
