Contractors with Aramco are looking for foreign companies to provide aluminum-tank vehicles to replace the present iron ones. The move is to meet new Aramco conditions for the transfer of petrol between distribution outlets.

Aramco issued binding decisions for outsourced tankers to use aluminum tanks, in addition to other safety requirements to be implemented by 2014.

Sources said the implementation of the decision would be done in stages. The first stage will apply to contractors who transfer fuel products to the company’s distribution outlets.

In a later stage, other contractors who supply the commodity to national companies such as Saudi Electricity Company will be included in the decision which will be extended to involve fuel stations located on highways.

The sources said that the expected cost of these changes, which would include 10,000 tankers, is SR300 million.

An investor in the transport sector, Bandar Al-Jabri, said the decision has positive sides.

“Aluminum tanks are characterized by their high quality. The tank does not interact with the fuel transported inside, thus reducing evaporation rates. Also the tank itself has a longer life span,” he added.

The other positive point, said Al-Jabri, is that the new tanks are bigger. They can hold 42,000 liters, against the current 37,000 liters.

He added that the weight of each one of the current tankers is between eight and 10 tons, while the bigger aluminum tankers do not exceed seven tons. “This will contribute to the maintenance of roads in the long run,” he added, noting that in case an iron fuel truck turned upside down in a road accident it is more likely to flare up because of the scratching process with the asphalt.