OPIC to fund Brazil's first private oil transshipment terminal

The board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has approved up to US$350mn in financing to build Brazil's Açu Oil Terminal (T-Oil) in the Açu port (pictured) located in Rio de Janeiro state's São João da Barra city.

The funding has been made available for oil transport firm Açu Petroleo of Prumo Logística, the local logistics group which owns Açu port, according to an OPIC release.

Aimed at providing a more cost effective and environmentally sustainable solution to the current system of transferring off-shore oil reserves from ship-to-ship in open waters, T-Oil is slated to be the first private transshipment terminal in Brazil.

By providing a contained, protected area for transshipment, the project reduces the potential and impact of oil spills during transshipment operations, the release said.

The approval constitutes part of a board decision on Thursday to finance a total of eight new development projects around the world.

"With more than US$1.2bn approved to projects spanning across four continents, these are great examples of the types of projects and investment that OPIC can catalyze," says OPIC president Elizabeth Littlefield.

The T-Oil project was the only one destined to a Latin American country.