OKKO network opened Western Ukraine’s largest facility for liquefied petroleum gas storage

In the second quarter of this year, the OKKO fuel filling stations network commissioned a newly-built gas filling station (GFS) near the town of Zolochiv, located in the Lviv region. Its reservoir park allows for the simultaneous storage of 2000 cubic meters of liquefied gas. This station’s power is sufficient to cover the operational needs of the company itself, as well as storing such resources for third-party customers.

"Over the past five years, the domestic gas-engine market has grown by about 50%, but the existing liquefied gas storage infrastructure in Ukraine was not ready for such a jump. The vast majority of Ukrainian GFS were built 15 or more years ago, and they are technologically outdated. This condition did not allow operators to create sufficient gas reserves and even led to local deficits during peak consumption periods. Now, by operating its own filling stations, the OKKO network is becoming more independent from resource fluctuations on the market and is able to ensure the timely and comprehensive provision of high-quality proven LPG, both to owners of dedicated cars and to B2B partners," says Sergey Stoyansky, Head of the Petroleum Products Supply and Wholesale Department of the OKKO network.

The GFS has a railroad rack, which can simultaneously accept four wagon tanks, and a car ramp with an autopilot system capable of simultaneously servicing four gas carriers. It takes only about 1.5-2 hours to fill one tank. The GFS is equipped with one railway and four car weights. Soon, the most up-to-date laboratory in Ukraine with respect to quality control of liquefied gas will work at the facility.

The station is designed and built with the highest possible level of technogenic safety. It features a system for the early detection of emergencies, as well as a modern fire alarm system. There are gassing sensors, the indicators for which will constantly be monitored in automatic mode. The station has two fire reservoirs that are 300 cubic meters each.

Today 245 OKKO filling stations offer LPG refueling. According to the company’s plan for the next two years, the number of filling stations of this kind will reach 300.