Overview
INTRODUCTION
Phenix Group Ventures Panama, S.A. will be created to capitalize on the significant current and projected growth in Asia’s energy demand by providing an improved and cost effective method of transporting petroleum products from the Caribbean. At present petroleum can only be transported from South America to Asia via three routes: 1. Through the Panama Canal: The Panama canal can only handle very small oil tankers at a cost per barrel 145% higher than of a ULCC super tanker; No shipments are being made at this time to Asia through the canal. 2. Around South America using frequently closed routes; there is only two to three months a year that this route can be used. This route has been removed from most shipping companies routes. 3. Around Africa utilizing a very long route currently being used to ship oil from South America to Asia. This route takes 46 days one way vs. Phenix’s 23 day route. 
Currently it takes approximately 46 days of one-way transportation time to ship crude oil from Venezuela to China and 49 days to Japan. Once operational, Phenix 23 /21 day route not only will save money on the transportation of the products; it will also reduce the need for tankers by approximately 50%. The Phenix pipeline will offer significant benefits over currently available transportation methods in the region. The pipeline will offer: • Significant cost savings; 
Currently the largest vessel that can transit the Panama Canal is known as a PANAMAX-size vessel (ships ranging from 50,000 - 70,000 dead weight tons in size); The pipeline will reduce dependence on a vital world oil transit chokepoint. The Panama Canal has been identified as a world oil transit chokepoint due its potential for closure. Disruption of oil flows through a chokepoint route can have a potential impact on world oil prices. Phenix will install "state of the art" technology during the construction of the project, in the area of safety, security and control systems, thus avoiding or minimizing operational failures, mechanical failures and corrosion during the operation of the project. These sophisticated features will continuously monitor pipeline operation to immediately respond to any changes, mitigate environmental impacts and optimize construction and operation of the pipelines. The pipeline will consist of two marine terminals located on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Connection between the super tankers and the terminals will be established via deep water off shore buoys. Each marine terminal will be equipped with storage facilities with a capacity of approximately 2.5 million barrels. The pipeline will be approximately 120 km long and will be located along the Utility Corridor. 
The pipeline will consist of several parallel pipelines for crude oil, Orimulsion, Refined Products and ethanol. The target throughput for the system will be in excess of 3.0 Million barrels of product per day. Pumping Stations will be situated in each Marine Terminal for transferring products from storage facilities to the appropriate pipeline. Additional pumping stations will be located along the pipeline in order to maintain product flow and pressure. Each pumping station will have its own power plant, utilizing product from the pipeline as fuel, with sufficient generating and backup storage capacity to operate each pumping station. All of the pumping stations will be protected by automatic foam and high pressure water fire suppression systems. In the case of a leak, an automatic system of pressure sensors in the pipeline will use a fiber-optic link to inform the OCC and to close off the emergency valves in the section affected and will automatically shutdown the pumping stations. 
The Marine Terminal Tank Farms will be located on the Atlantic coast and on the Pacific coast. The connection between tankers and the terminals will be via offshore buoys situated in deep waters to safely accommodate supertankers (VLCC).Each terminal will have a storage capacity of approximately 2,500,000 barrels of petroleum products. Storage facilities will be constructed according to state of the art standards, including discreet compartmentalization, protective dikes, surface water monitoring and protection, fire suppression, and tropical storm/hurricane resistant structures. The Marine Terminals will consist of storage tanks, pumping stations, administrative offices, stores and maintenance shops. A Permanent Terrestrial Emergency Team and a Permanent Marine Emergency Team will be based within each Marine Terminal. The connection between tankers and the terminals will be through the offshore buoys situated in deep waters to safely accommodate supertankers (VLCC). Phenix Group Ventures Panama, S.A. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
The Phenix Group Ventures Panama, S.A. approaches environmental issues proactively. Instead of waiting for challenges from the environmental community Phenix will implement environmental systems that will work with the environmentalists, systems such as Ultra modern security systems to secure the pipelines from leakage and vandalism. In addition we will use our fiber system to provide real time eco-monitoring along the pipeline. Currently Phenix has retained the services of Golder Associates, one of the largest privately held engineering and environmental science consulting companies in the world. They have already performed services for Phenix Group Ventures Corporation and stand ready to assist us when Phenix Group Ventures Panama, S.A. is ready to go. With offices in Asia Pacific, Australia, Europe, North America and South America, Golder Associates will assist us in meeting all the environmental requirements for this project. A state of the art sophisticated redundant safety system for monitoring pipeline pressure, product temperature and equipment status, along with real time video monitoring, connected by fiber optics will be installed along the line and at all Valve Stations for systems automation, leak detection, maintenance and operational purposes. During operations, the working pressure of the pipeline will be +/- 42 kg/cm² (600psi). Solid state microprocessor monitors will detect pressure variances of 10% to 15%, automatically closing the safety valves and shutting down the Pumping Stations via the fiber optic link. In general, 2m (6’) deep trenches will be excavated for the pipeline and then back filled with the excavated material. Topsoil stripped from the work area excavation will be used for the final 15cm of backfill to promote the re-establishment of the natural vegetation. The same excavation process will be used for isolated rural roads and paths, where there will be little impact to traffic, and dry or small streams where it is economical to do so. In the case of main roads, rivers and large streams, a horizontal boring machine will be used to bore under these features and insert casing for the pipes. 
For systems support, an integrated fiber optic cable located along the entire length of the pipeline will transmit real time sensor and safety system data (flow, pressure and temperature). Operational data will be analyzed and processed in the future Operations Control Center (OCC). Automated systems instructions can be transmitted to the safety and pumping stations from the OCC. The Operational Control Center (OCC) will operate 24 hours a day. Phenix will be working with CENS, a US National Science Foundation Science & Technology Center, which is developing Embedded Networked Sensing (ENS) Systems and applying this revolutionary technology to critical scientific and social applications. Like the Internet, these large-scale, distributed systems, composed of smart sensors and actuators embedded in the physical world, will eventually infuse the entire world, but at a physical level instead of virtual. The CENS focus for ENS Technology Research draws on a diverse set of researchers within engineering, from distributed system design, to distributed robotics, to wireless communications, signal processing and low-power multi-modal sensor-technology design. In addition, the physically-embedded nature of this technology calls for significant experimentation and exploration within the context of the target application domains in order to identify the true challenges and opportunities. CENS technology research is currently focused in the following eight areas:
The CENS focus for ENS Application Research is currently on four experimental application drivers: ecology and habitat sensing, seismic sensing and structure response, monitoring and modeling contaminant flows, and detection and identification of marine microorganisms. To support this scope, CENS combines the expertise of faculty from diverse engineering disciplines with the expertise of biological, environmental and earth scientists. During the lifetime of the Center, the plan is to pursue additional opportunities for applying the technology to other natural and engineered systems. A multifaceted education, outreach and training program ensures that CENS and our research products, software, and technology/application research optimally benefit the target communities. Three of the four CENS Applications Research areas focus on Ecological and Habitat Sensing to monitor the dynamics of biological complexity: environmental, organismal, and cultural conditions, and the interactions between them in natural and managed landscapes. The overall goal continues to be in improving the design and deployment of embedded network systems for practical ecological, terrestrial, marine, and agricultural uses that can operate remotely, and in uncontrolled natural and settings, capturing chemical, physiological and environmental data across a wide range of ecological conditions, temporal and spatial scales. Significant work has begun in the effort to provide an infrastructure to field test Embedded Networked Sensing (ENS) and techniques within a range of habitats and ecosystems (including in the tropics), and to deploy experimental model systems suitable for addressing specialized and general ecological information needs. CENS is near the completion of new software that will enable us to increase the array to more than 100 nodes and thousands of sensors. A robust, 10 channel video network to observe avian behavioral activities related to climate, nesting and reproduction. Soil mini-risottos and below ground sensors and cameras are being designed for measuring soil moisture, nitrate, CO2, temperature, and root/fungi activities in response to weather. And finally, the first permanent networked info-mechanical system (NIMS) node was installed within the forest canopy and spanning a riparian ecosystem. Research Highlights: Micro climate Sensor and Video Enabled Networks: 
1) The Continuous Measurement System project is intended to investigate the requirements for a long-term data collection by deploying a system with simple, well-tested communication software and a limited number of nodes. 2) The ESS is designed to be the test bed for sensors, interface hardware, RF communication hardware, communication protocols, databases and user interfaces to be used in CENS Habitat sensing. 3) The system will support characterization of microclimatic influences on nesting activity and nest success 4) The data gathered will be used to test systems for automatically classifying nest box images in real time at remote nest sites. Embedded Network Sensing within Soils: 1) A networked robotic mini-rhizotron array is being developed for obtaining real-time, simultaneous field data on root/mycorrhizal dynamics in conjunction with soil respiration (CO2), nutrient flux (N, P, etc.), and moisture. Current minirhizotron cameras are cumbersome to operate and are very time-consuming during data collection, management, and interpretation. 2) However, they provide valuable in situ observations impossible through other means 3) The soil array will be used to investigate the effect that diurnal temperature changes have on water movement through soil and how that water movement is affected by the presence of rocks on the soil surface. 4) A second ESS-based micro-climate and soils monitoring system to be deployed in a botanical garden will support study of the micro-climate and soil preferences of traditional and contemporary Panamanian crops of cultural, medicinal, and economic significance. 5) Conducted a successful Soil Sensing Workshop to bring together experts in the field, the culmination being a proposal submitted to the NSF as well as a paper written for the journal BIOSCIENCE. Other Related Projects: • Ecophysiological studies utilizing Mobile Sensor Platforms HUMANITARIAN ISSUESLarge infrastructure and energy projects and the substantial revenues they generate do not always deliver the fullest benefits at the local level. This failure is sometimes called the "Paradox of Plenty". Phenix Group Ventures Panama, S.A. has committed to sharing the prosperity. The integration of nationals into the work force, inclusion of the communities into the process, and operating in harmony with the environment are among the Company’s highest priorities. Phenix will initiate contacts with the indigenous communities along the proposed route to inform them about the project and to assure that their concerns, social and environmental, are satisfied from the outset of the project. An integral part of the overall Phenix plan is to give back to the people of Panama through a well planned and managed Humanitarian effort. Phenix will allocate a percentage of its profits generated in Panama to direct humanitarian efforts in the country. This effort will be managed through a non profit company Phenix will establish called THE PHENIX FOUNDATION. Funds will be administered according to the same rigorous accounting methods applicable to the Company. None of the funds will go to government officials, but rather will go directly to projects administered by private contractors demonstrating adherence to the highest ethical standards. 
Examples of projects intended to positively impact the quality of life of the People of Panama may include local medical clinics, schools, fresh water wells, multi-purpose community centers, electric generating and distribution facilities, job training, transportation and communication infrastructure, and free or low cost connectivity programs. The goal will be to provide opportunities for the People of Panama to improve their quality of life and to help them help themselves. Benefits of the Phenix Project to Panama: Phenix can provide the country of Panama with many benefits, such as reductions in poverty, increase the employment base, raise the ability for students to receive information technologies through better access to the Internet, provided medical services to outlying areas, training laborers so that they can work in better paying jobs, etc. The Pipeline Project will ‘trickle down’ to approximately 1,200 people who are indirectly impacted by Phenix using as much local services as possible.. They will include employment in business such as:
HISTORY OF THE PROJECTIn the beginning, in the late 90s, Phenix Pipeline USA began exploring the construction of an oil pipeline system in Central America. The first location considered was in Costa Rica but it soon became apparent that the government was not receptive to such a large scale infrastructure project. The Central American Pipeline Project then moved to to Nicaragua and formed Oleoductos Premier de Nicaragua, the company that would build and operate the pipeline. Much of the initial strategy and planning was completed during several years of analysis, flyovers, research and surveys. Following several years of planning and preparation, the investor group decided, in light of the socio-economic and political considerations currently in play in Nicaragua, that the project would be moved to Panama. As you will see below, there was much favorable press about the Nicaragua route and the level of enthusiasm about Panama is even higher. As time passes, news articles from the Panama press and other national papers will provide additional clippings for this website. Until then, please read the information below and learn more about the history. Documents in English. Golder Wins Nicaraguan Corridor Project Environmental Study Ready for Nicaragua Pipeline Environmental Impact Analysis for Oleoducto Documentos en español. Oleoducto Servirá Para Llevar Petróleo a Mercado Asiático Golder Wins Nicaraguan Corridor Project Inicia análisis de impacto ambiental para oleoducto
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