This Day in History
This Day in History (1985): New LPG Loading Facility Goes into Operation at Qatif
The plant included four large LPG spheres, four bays for loading trucks, a modern control room, maintenance shop, and more.
From the Dec. 4 edition of The Arabian Sun
Local customers probably don't know it, but the LPG (liquid petroleum gas) they're buying these days for cooking and heating has probably had first-class handling at a spanking new LPG-loading facility near Qatif.
Built, operated, and maintained by Aramco for Petromin, the hydrocarbons-marketing agency of the Kingdom, the facility is at the end of a 10-inch diameter pipeline carrying a stream of LPG -- a mixture of propane and butane — under Tarut Bay from the Ras Tanura Refinery where it is produced.
The new plant began operation Sept. 3, replacing an LPG-loading facility at Ras Tanura that was more than a quarter century old.
The facility includes four large LPG spheres, four bays for loading tanker trucks, a modern control room, a maintenance shop, advanced safety systems, and a 1.5-megawatt backup generator in case of an electricity loss.
Located west of the highway between Dhahran and Ras Tanura, the plant is highlighted by its silver LPG spheres.
The 75,000-barrel liquid-gas capacity facility is staffed around the clock by a total of 20 Aramco operators.
Caption for top photo: A pair of the four liquid petroleum gas (LPG) spheres at the new Qatif LPG-Loading Facility are bordered by tanker-truck loading bay girders and piping at the plant.
Also on this day
2021 — Semeru in Java, Indonesia, erupts and kills 43 people
1991 — Pan American World Airways ceases operations after 64 years
1982 — The People's Republic of China adopts its current constitution
1971 — During a Frank Zappa concert at the Montreux Casino, an audience member fires a flare into the venue's ceiling, sparking a fire that destroys the venue. The event is immortalized by rock band Deep Purple, who recorded their next album at the site of the ruined hotel, in their song "Smoke on the Water"
1956 — The Million Dollar Quarter of Elvis Pressley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins get together for their only session at Sun Studios
1909 — The Montreal Canadiens, the oldest surviving professional hockey franchise in the world, is founded as a charter member of the National Hockey Association
1881 — The first edition of the loss Angels Times is published
1872 — The Mary Celeste, an American brigantine, is found crewless and drifting in the Atlantic Ocean by the Canadian brig Dei Gratia. Though abandoned only nine days previous and with only slight damage, its mystery is never solved
1259 — King Louis IX of France and Henry III of England agree to the Treaty of Paris, in which Henry renounces his claim to French-controlled territory on the continent in exchange for Louis withdrawing support for English rebels
