News bulletin – storage terminals

NEWS BULLETIN

STORAGE TERMINALS

GPS POSITIONS ITSELF

Global Petro Storage (GPS) has firmed up two plans for greenfield terminals. In October, in a joint venture with Innova Refining Industries and Chemie Tech, it took a final investment decision to go ahead with a specialised facility in Hamriyah, UAE that will handle the reprocessing of waste oils, trading, imports and bunkering (above). Work has already started, with completion set for late 2019.

“This is GPS’s first investment in the Middle East, which is a key strategic hub which the company plans to expand around,” the company says. GPS will hold the majority in the three-party joint venture company that will develop, own and operate the state-of-the-art hydrocarbon storage terminal according to international standards.

In November GPS announced plans for a new LPG terminal in Port Klang, Malaysia, following a long-term agreement with Equinor (formerly Statoil). Equinor, which is responsible for around 10 per cent of global seaborne LPG trade, is aiming for a larger share of the market in south-east Asia; the new terminal will be designed to provide an entry point not only for the domestic market in Malaysia but also nearby countries. The two companies expect the facility to be operational by mid-2021.

“Malaysia is an attractive market and we believe that we will be a competitive supplier to the wholesalers of LPG into the domestic market. The terminal and storage are also strategically located for blending and selling to other growing markets in the region,” says Molly Morris, vice-president for products and liquids at Equinor ASA. “We will source LPG from the North Sea, North Africa, the Middle East and Australia and utilise the opportunities the terminal and storage and our shipping positions give us to create value and strengthen our competitiveness.”

GPS, backed by Blue Water Energy, arrived in the terminal sector in December 2016 with the purchase of the 148,500-m3 Hydrocarbon Hotel in Amsterdam from Varo Energy. At that time it said it had around $300m to invest and had a goal of achieving annual EBITDA of $75m to $100m within five years. www.gpsgroup.com

MARTIN ADDS TRUCKING

Martin Midstream Partners is to acquire Martin Transport Inc (MTI) for $135m plus earn-out. The acquisition will be funded by the $193.7m it received from the sale of its interest in the West Texas LPG pipeline on 31 July.

“MTI transports petroleum products, LPG, chemicals, sulphur and other products, as well as owns 23 terminals located throughout the Gulf Coast and Midwest,” says the company. Furthermore, it says, MTI “is integral to MMLP’s routine movements of sulphur and NGLs”.

MTI was formerly owned by Martin Resource Management Corp. It currently has 561 trucks, 1,307 trailers and 23 terminals in the south-east and Midwest US. www.martinmidstream.com

VTTI SHARE CHANGES AGAIN

Buckeye Partners is to sell its 50 per cent equity interest in VTTI to IFM Investors, an institutional funds manager owned by 27 Australian pension funds. Vitol’s remaining 50 per cent interest will be controlled by Vitol Investment Partnership II Ltd (VIP), an investment vehicle sponsored by Vitol. The transaction, which is subject to certain conditions, is expected to close by the end of the year. There will be no change to the VTTI management.

Rob Nijst, CEO of VTTI, says: “It has been a pleasure working with Buckeye over the last two years and we wish Buckeye the very best in its future endeavours. We are looking forward to a strengthened cooperation with IFM, Vitol and VIP, working together to further grow our global network of terminals”.

The transaction, which will delivery $975m in cash to Buckeye, is one outcome of the partnership’s recent strategic review, which will also see it sell off a package of non-integrated US pipeline and terminal assets. Those include airport operations in San Diego and Memphis and two refined products terminals in California. www.vtti.com

BIGGER IN BEAUMONT

Phillips 66 reports that it has recently completed a 0.9m-bbl (143,000-m3) expansion of its Beaumont crude oil terminal in Texas, taking total crude and products storage capacity to 13.3m bbl (2.1m m3). Another round of construction has already started, which will add a further 1.3m bbl (200,000 m3) of crude oil capacity by the end of this year. Another 2.2m bbl (350,000 m3) of crude oil storage is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2020. www.phillips66.com

TERQUIMSA GETS CERTIFIED

Vopak Terquimsa has renewed its Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status, which offers simplified customs procedures for companies that show they operate in compliance with security and protection requirements.

“We are committed to certification as an AEO since [the scheme’s] inception, being the first liquid bulk terminal certified in our country,” says Eduardo Sañudo, general director. “At Vopak Terquimsa we have the constant objective of optimising our processes and certification as an AEO is undoubtedly an improvement in the efficiency of our customs processes, which entails significant savings in time and money for our customers.” www.vopakterquimsa.com

PIR CONSOLIDATES CAPACITY

La Petrolifera Italo Rumena (PIR) has become sole owner of Petra SpA, acquiring its former partner’s 50 per cent shareholding. Petra was established in 1992 by PIR and Eni to rationalise oil logistics in the port of Ravenna, Italy, where PIR operates its own 183,000-m3 bulk liquids terminal.

Now under PIR’s control, Petra SpA will take over the Ravenna terminal through a merger with Pir Petroli SpA. PIR says the Ravenna site is ideally located to act as a hub for petroleum products in the upper Adriatic. www.gruppopir.com

MORE GAS FOR OILTANKING

Oiltanking Antwerp Gas Terminal (AGT) is to build a 135,000-m3 propane tank to handle imports for the new propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit Borealis is to open at its nearby Kallo site. The PDH unit is due onstream in early 2022.

“I am looking forward to continue the long-standing partnership and the confidence placed in Oiltanking for handling propylene and propane and the further integration into the logistics chain of Borealis,” says Daan Vos, managing director of Oiltanking West of Suez.

The new propane tank is the same size as the butane tank AGT is currently building for Ineos, which will be the largest of its kind in Europe on completion. Once the two new tanks are finished, Oiltanking will have almost tripled capacity at AGT, which it acquired in mid-2016.

Oiltanking has also announced it has sold its share in the Exir Chemical Terminal, located in Bandar Imam Khomeini, Iran, to its local joint-venture partner. In a brief statement, the Hamburgbased terminal operator said the sale came “as a result of its continuous portfolio optimisation and the difficult market in Iran”. The Exir terminal, sited in the Petrochemical Special Economic Zone, has a capacity of 22,000 m3 in 18 tanks. www.oiltanking.com