STORAGE TERMINALS 07
WHERE TO NEXT?
FOLLOW THE LEADER The experience of Vopak, which operates the widest network of independent bulk liquids storage terminals in the world, shows how facility owners can adapt to changing conditions. In its third quarter 2019 report, for example, it notes that overall tank occupancy fell to 84 per cent from 86 per cent in the first three quarters of 2018. The decline was most marked in the
a broad strategic review in February 2018. As part of that, it determined to concentrate on major industrial terminals that serve a large local oil or petrochemical hub, on LNG and other gas opportunities, and on chemical terminals serving a local market. During 2019 Vopak continued to execute this strategy, divesting its shareholding in Vopak EOS in Tallinn, Estonia, and the Amsterdam and Hamburg terminals; it also reached agreement to sell the Algeciras terminal, although this had not been completed by the end of the year. In gas terminals, it opened the Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal (RIPET), a joint venture with AltaGas, in British Columbia, Canada, and acquired a 49 per cent stake in Sociedad Portuaria el Cayao, which operates Colombia’s only LNG import terminal, in Cartagena. In terms of industrial facilities, Vopak was selected by the ExxonMobil/Sabic joint venture Gulf Coast Growth Ventures (GCGV), to design, build, own and operate a new terminal to serve a planned 1.8 mta ethane cracker complex in San Patricio county, Texas. GCGV says the petrochemical plant will produce ethylene from an ethane steam cracker, with derivative units producing monoethylene
Asia & Middle East division, with a smaller fall in Europe & Africa, while occupancy improved in the Americas (up from 90 per cent to 91 per cent) and in China & North Asia. Having anticipated that there would be some significant changes in the global market for bulk liquids storage services, Vopak concluded
glycol and polyethylenes. The new terminal will handle all products moved by sea and has an anticipated tank capacity of 130,000 m³. Startup is scheduled by 2022. This past November Vopak signed a deal to take a 51 per cent shareholding in a new industrial terminal designed to provide »
MARKET • POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTIES, ALONGSIDE VOLATILE OIL PRICES, PRESENT A CHALLENGE TO OPERATORS OF BULK LIQUIDS TERMINALS AROUND THE WORLD The key to success as an operator of bulk liquids storage terminals lies in having the right capacity available at the right location at the right time. That might sound straightforward, but terminals are high-ticket investment assets that require a long payback time. Even expanding an existing facility takes time and money, so operators need to have confidence that their efforts will reap a return. That is hard enough during times of economic and political stability but the past few years have shown us that volatility and uncertainty are the new norms. Business as usual is no more. How can a terminal operator plan to have the right capacity in the right place when product trades are so unpredictable? Some fortunate operators have found themselves in the right place over the past year, reporting occupancy rates of almost 100 per
VOPAK HAS DIVESTED A NUMBER OF SMALLER, ISOLATED TERMINALS IN EUROPE
cent at some of their facilities. Others have found long-term commitments on the part of cargo owners to allow them to invest in additional capacity or new terminals with confidence. For many, though, it has been a time of trying to tweak their networks in order to take advantage of changing market demand.
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