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NEWS BULLETIN
STORAGE TERMINALS
ODFJELL GIVES OK TO HOUSTON EXPANSION
Odfjell has taken the decision to proceed with the planned expansion of Odfjell Terminals Houston (OTH)(right), with construction work on the new Bay 13 due to start in the first quarter. Bay 13 will comprise nine tanks, with a mixture of stainless and carbon steel, will a combined capacity of 32,400 m3. On completion, the new bay will increase capacity at OTH by some 9 per cent to 413,400 m3. Odfjell says the expansion project is “consistent with OTH’s strategy of positioning itself for healthy demand for storage capacity in the specialty/petrochemical industry in the US Gulf Coast region,” where it has been operating at or near full capacity for several years. The new tanks will allow OTH to relocate and consolidate products of existing customers and optimise the use of its current storage capacity for new customers and products. Odfjell says bulk chemical exports from the US Gulf are expected to increase by 2.3m tonnes by 2024, leading to a rise in storage demand. The development of Bay 13 will, it says, assist in supporting industry growth for existing and new customers. The tank bay will be highly automated, requiring less manual intervention, and will benefit from the ongoing Digital Transformation Program, which includes an advanced ERP system and automated control systems. It is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2023. www.odfjell.com BITUMEN BY RAIL FROM CANADA
US Development Group (USD) and Gibson Energy have put their new diluent recovery unit into full operation and begun shipping DRUbit by Rail™. This provides a way to move heavy Canadian crude oil (bitumen) by rail to the US Gulf Coast at a cost that is competitive with pipeline. The DRUbit is loaded at Gibson’s Hardisty terminal in Alberta and is currently
HCB MONTHLY | JANUARY 2022
being shipped to ConocoPhillips’ Port Arthur Terminal in Texas, where the diluent is removed and returned to Hardisty by train, with the support of CP and Kansas City Southern. “We were pleased to see the Hardisty Energy Terminal fully operational in line with budgeted capital cost,” says Steve Spaulding, Gibson’s president/CEO. “We consider DRUs to be a cost-effective, scalable, environmentally attractive long-term egress solution for the basin, and we remain in commercial discussions for potential additional phases at the Hardisty Energy Terminal.” www.gibsonenergy.com HYDROGEN FOR BELGIUM
The Port of Antwerp and the Port of Zeebrugge have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Chile’s Ministry of Energy with the aim of setting up a flow of renewable hydrogen from Chile to western Europe. A feasibility study had previously confirmed that importing renewable energy is achievable both from a technical and economic point of view. “Importing renewable energy is essential if
we are to achieve a carbon-neutral society by the year 2050,” says the Port of Antwerp. “Generating solar and wind energy in Belgium alone will not be sufficient. That is why we will be importing wind and sun from countries where both are available in abundance. When importing energy, hydrogen molecules are used as a storage medium for transportation purposes.” This collaboration will eliminate the last barriers and gaps in the run-up to the effective start-up of green production, the establishment of the logistics chain between the continents and the logistics in the Belgian seaports and their hinterland, the Port of Antwerp says. Chile has set ambitious targets to leverage its abundant renewable energy sources to become a carbon-neutral country by 2050 and to be producing the cheapest green hydrogen by 2030. Speaking at the signing of the MOU this past November, Chile’s energy minister Juan Carlos Jobet said: “This is excellent news to continue consolidating Chile’s leadership in the development of this new industry. Our potential in clean energy will allow us to be the cheapest producers of green hydrogen in
