Global terminal expansion survey

IF YOU BUILD IT…

EXPANSIONS • DESPITE SHORT-TERM CONCERNS OVER TERMINAL PROFITABILITY, MONEY IS STILL COMING IN TO THE TANK STORAGE INDUSTRY TO SUPPORT CAPACITY ADDITIONS

FOR ALL THAT governments around the world are responding to the environmentalist lobby and a growing weight of public opinion to promote alternatives to hydrocarbon-based fuels and feedstocks, oil demand grows unabated. That is a function not just of the growing availability of crude oil and natural gas from the development of shale and other tight oil reserves, but also of a desire on the part of the populations of developing economies to enjoy the same standard of living as their counterparts in the developed world.

Such growth in global oil demand means necessarily that there is increasing world trade in crude oil, refined products, liquefied gases and other downstream products, including liquid chemicals, in bulk. That also means there is growing demand for terminalling services both in exporting and importing countries to handle the trade and to act as a balancing point to even out supply and demand inconsistencies.

This year’s annual review of terminal expansion projects reflects those trends. Despite predictions that the shale oil and gas boom in North America would be short-lived, given the comparatively high cost of monetising these reserves, improvements in extraction techniques and the global thirst for liquid hydrocarbons has meant a lot of investment going in to build terminal capacity at each link of the supply chain. That shows both in the expansion of existing marine facilities, especially in the US Gulf Coast region, as well as plans for new export-oriented terminalling capacity for crude oil, refined products and – increasingly – LNG, LPG and other liquefied gases.

There is a concomitant expansion of terminal capacity in importing countries, responding both to growing demand from increasingly affluent consumers and to efforts to liberalise local markets. This has led to investment in crude oil and downstream logistics infrastructure in countries as diverse as Mexico, South Africa, Mozambique and Sri Lanka.

All this is happening at a time when terminal operators are feeling the pressure of adverse market developments. Major independents and North American midstream operators have been releasing financial results for the first quarter of 2018 that, on a like-for-like basis, mostly show a decline in profitability compared to a year ago. Margins are tighter and arbitrage opportunities harder to find.

Nevertheless, operating bulk liquids terminals is a long-term business. Operators need to feel confident that there will be a market for their capacity for decades to come, otherwise the investment is insecure. And given that so much of the new money pouring in to support terminal investment is coming from equity funds that demand a return, it is clear that there is plenty of confidence in the long-term viability of the sector.

NORTH AMERICA

Base Line Terminal, Alberta The new Base Line Terminal in Edmonton opened for business in January 2018 with an initial crude oil capacity of 1.6m bbl (255,000 m3) in four tanks. The terminal, a 50/50 joint venture between Kinder Morgan and Keyera Corp, will expand to 4.8m bbl by the end of 2018 as eight more tanks come onstream. A further 1.8m bbl of crude oil storage may be added later, depending on customer demand.

Gibson Energy, Alberta Gibson Energy is to expand its Hardisty terminal in Alberta, Canada with the addition of three new tanks totalling 1.1m bbl (175,000 m3). Two 300,000-bbl tanks are underpinned by a long-term contract with an oil sands customer. The new capacity is due in service in third quarter 2019.

Gibsons has also added 800,000 bbl of new tank capacity at the Edmonton terminal; the tanks entered service in early January 2018.

“Our Hardisty Terminal continues to demonstrate its commercial competitiveness and this contract affirms the ongoing demand for our strategic storage infrastructure in support of incremental oil sands brownfield development,” says Steve Spaulding, Gibsons’ president/CEO. “We will continue to focus on the build-out of the undeveloped acreage at both our Hardisty and Edmonton terminals as our number one strategic priority.”

Buckeye Partners, Illinois Buckeye Partners has committed $80m to an expansion of the Chicago Complex, its key Midwest logistics hub. The project, backed by a long-term agreement with BP Products North America, will expand storage and throughput capacity, component blend and other services. It includes construction of 600,000 bbl (95,000 m3) of additional product blending tankage and expansion of an existing truck loading rack. The Chicago Complex currently has some 6.8m bbl (1.08m m3) of storage capacity, serving nearly 70 different customers. “This project will further enhance the liquidity of the Chicago Complex and continues to solidify our position as the premier storage and trading facility in the Chicago area,” says Robert A Malecky, executive vicepresident and president of Buckeye’s Domestic Pipeline and Terminals division.

Pin Oak, Louisiana Pin Oak Terminals put the first phase of its grassroots liquids terminal in Louisiana into service last year. The first 424,000 bbl of tankage is used for refined products and biofuels. Construction is continuing as Pin Oak heads for a planned total capacity of nearly 4m bbl (635,000 m3). The terminal is located at Mt Airy on the Mississippi River, and can handle up to 14 barges simultaneously, as well as Suezmax tankers. TransMontaigne, Mississippi Last year TransMontaigne Partners completed the final 800,000 bbl of its phase one 2m bbl (318,000 m3) expansion of the Collins terminal in Mississippi, with the new capacity all leased out. The company has permits to build a further 5m bbl and says it is in “active discussions” with several prospective customers.

Buckeye Partners, Texas Buckeye Partners has completed modifications to the berth at its Texas Hub terminal in Corpus Christi and has loaded the first Suezmax cargo of crude oil for export. The tanker Astra, under charter to Motiva Enterprises, was loaded on 31 March. “Buckeye Texas Hub has become a premier location providing marine terminal services, allowing growing US energy exports access to global markets,” says Khalid Muslih, executive vice-president of Buckeye and president of its Global Marine Terminals operations. “We are very excited to have reached this milestone and look forward to additional opportunities to partner with Trafigura to further expand the terminal’s capabilities and serve the region’s rapidly growing energy production.”

Contanda, Texas Contanda Terminals has secured a long-term lease on what it terms a “prime deepwater access property” on the Houston Ship Channel, which will allow it to double storage capacity over the next five years and expand into the bulk petrochemical and hydrocarbon markets. “With this project, Contanda has the opportunity to make significant strides in achieving our corporate goals while firmly establishing our position as a leading storage provider in the growing petrochemical and hydrocarbon markets,” says Jerry Cardillo, president/CEO of Contanda. Contanda currently operates three storage terminals in the Houston area. The new facility will be built in phases to provide customers access to onsite processing, multiple ship and barge docks, and convenient tank truck and railcar accessibility.

Enterprise Products, Texas Enterprise Products Partners and Navigator Holdings are to develop an ethylene export facility at Enterprise’s existing Morgan’s Point ethane terminal on the Houston Ship Channel in Texas. The 50/50 joint venture will have refrigerated storage for 30,000 tonnes of ethylene and the capacity to export some 1m tonnes per year. The terminal, expected in service during the first quarter of 2020, is supported by long-term contracts with anchor »

CONTANDA IS PLANNING A MAJOR BUILD-OUT

OF ITS HOUSTON-AREA FACILITIES

clients including Flint Hills Resources and a Japanese trading company.

Enterprise Products Partners is also to further extend the Enterprise Hydrocarbon Terminal (EHT) on the Houston Ship Channel, having acquired a 65-acre waterfront site immediately adjacent to its existing facilities. The company plans to construct at least two deepwater docks capable of handling Suezmax tankers.

Howard Energy Partners, Texas Howard Energy Partners (HEP) commenced operations at the new Maverick Terminals bulk liquids storage facility in Corpus Christi, Texas in May 2018, only six months after construction began. The facility currently has six 80,000-bbl tanks and is being used for the storage, blending and unit train loading of gasoline. HEP has permits to expand total capacity up to 1.25m bbl, while there is space to double that.

“The Corpus Christi terminal, with its strategic location, pipeline connectivity, efficient rail loading facilities and planned Suezmax dock, is poised to provide worldclass midstream services to clients seeking to export crude oil, refined products and NGLs from our major production basins and refining centres to the global markets,” says Brad Bynum, president and co-founder of HEP. “The completion of this facility is also a significant step in our continued plans to develop key infrastructure for the movement of energy commodities into and out of Mexico.”

Kinder Morgan, Texas Expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Pasadena terminal was held up by Hurricane Harvey although new tankage began coming onstream in November 2017. The new Pit 11 project, costing some $186m, was completed in the first quarter of 2018, adding 2.0m bbl (318,000 m3) of capacity for refined products. Other ongoing projects have added a further 1.5m bbl of tankage at the company’s product storage terminals along the Houston Ship Channel.

LBC, Texas LBC Tank Terminals is to build a new terminal in Freeport, Texas to serve MEGlobal’s worldscale monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant. The new facility, LBC Freeport, will be an integrated part of MEGlobal’s supply chain and linked to the adjacent production unit, currently under construction at Oyster Creek. It will mainly handle MEG and diethylene glycol.

“We are delighted to enter into this agreement and partner with MEGlobal Americas on this project. With over 30 years of historical experience in handling glycols, this project opportunity fits our portfolio and investment risk models and is aligned with our business strategy to further optimise, build-out and expand our business,” says John Grimes, regional business president Americas at LBC Tank Terminals. Construction work has already started, with operational startup planned for 2019 to coincide with the commissioning of the new MEGlobal plant. The terminal will be located on land leased by LBC from MEGlobal Americas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuwait-based Equate Petrochemical.

Magellan Midstream, Texas Magellan Midstream Partners says the new dock at its Galena Park terminal in Texas is due in service later this year. Magellan is also reported to be planning a significant expansion of crude oil export capacity at its terminal in Corpus Christi. The company is looking to add four new docks, increase the draft alongside and also replace the harbour bridge to provide extra air draft. The work, due for completion in 2020, will allow tankers up to VLCC size to load crude at a rate of more than 30,000 bbl/hour.

Magellan Midstream and Valero Energy have agreed to expand their 50/50 joint venture petroleum product terminal currently under construction in Pasadena, Texas. Work on the first 1m bbl of capacity and a Panamax-size jetty is currently in hand for planned startup in January 2019; another 4m bbl of tankage, a second berth capable of handling Aframax tankers and a three-bay truck rack will now be added, for completion in early 2020. The partners say another 5m bbl of storage capacity could be built, depending on demand. The new Pasadena terminal will be linked by pipeline to Valero’s refineries in Houston and Texas city, Magellan’s Galena Park terminal and to the Colonial and Explorer pipelines.

NOVA, Texas Canada-based NOVA Chemicals and Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals, a unit of Energy Transfer Partners, have entered a non-binding memorandum of understanding to look at the development of an ethylene

LBC IS BUILDING A DEDICATED

export terminal on the US Gulf Coast. NOVA has new olefins capacity at Geismar, Louisiana and is looking at a joint-venture cracker in Texas. If the plan goes ahead, the partners will establish an 800,000 tpa terminal, fed from the Lone Star NGL storage hub in Mont Belvieu.

Orbit, Texas Energy Transfer Partners and Satellite Petrochemical USA have agreed to form a joint venture, Orbit Gulf Coast NGL Exports, to build an ethane export terminal on the US Gulf Coast that will provide feedstock for Satellite’s new ethane-fed crackers in Jiangsu province, China. The work will involve a new ethane pipeline from ETP’s Mont Belvieu fractionators, export facilities, an 800,000-bbl (127,000-m3) refrigerated storage tank and a 175,000-bpd ethane refrigeration unit. ETP will operate the Orbit assets, expected to be located in Texas. Commercial start-up is scheduled for fourth quarter 2020.

Phillips 66, Texas Phillips 66 commissioned 1.2m bbl (910,000 m3) of new product storage capacity at its Beaumont terminal in Texas in second quarter 2017 and by the end of the year had increased export capacity by 50 per cent to 600,000 bpd. The company is now in the process of adding 3.5m bbl (550,000 m3) of crude storage capacity, due for completion by the end of 2018, which will take overall capacity up to 14.6m bbl (2.3m m3).

Seabrook Logistics, Texas Magellan Midstream and LBC Tank Terminals are adding 1.7m bbl of new tankage at their Seabrook Logistics joint venture in Houston this year. Pipeline links are also being added to Magellan’s Houston crude oil distribution system. Operations are expected to commence early in the third quarter.

South Texas Gateway, Texas Buckeye Partners, Phillips 66 Partners and Andeavour (formerly Tesoro Logistics) have set up a joint venture to develop the planned South Texas Gateway Terminal on 212 acres of waterfront land at Ingleside in Corpus Christi Bay. The terminal will handle exports of crude oil and condensate from the Permian Basin via the planned Gray Oak pipeline. It will have an initial crude oil storage capacity of 3.4m bbl (540,000 m3) and two docks capable of handling VLCCs. Eventual capacity could be as high as 10m bbl. The partners plan for commercial startup by the end of 2019. Buckeye owns 50 per cent of the venture, with Phillips 66 and Andeavour, which will both commit throughput, each holding 25 per cent.

Vopak, Texas Vopak is currently adding 138,000 m3 of new chemical tankage at its wholly owned Deer Park terminal. Work is due for completion by the end of the year. Current capacity stands at 1.1m m3 for biofuels, chemicals, refined products, base oils and lubricants.

Contanda, Washington Contanda is planning to build eight new storage tanks at its Grays Harbor terminal in Washington, US. The 1.1m bbl (175,000 m3) of new tankage responds to customer demand for biofuels. “We heard the community, met with our customers and developed a revised strategy involving the storage of clean products,” says GR ‘Jerry’ Cardillo, CEO of Contanda. In 2013 Contanda (then operating as Westway) sought permission to expand the terminal to handle products other than ethanol but this was turned down, largely due to local opposition to the storage and handling of crude oil. In January 2018 the company formally withdrew the application. LATIN AMERICA

Granel Química, Brazil Odfjell affiliate Granel Quimíca is building a second tank farm in Santos. The new facility, due for completion in second quarter 2019, will have a capacity of 51,910 m3, just over half that of the existing Santos terminal.

Vopak, Brazil Vopak is engaged in a significant expansion of its wholly owned Alemoa terminal in Santos, Brazil. During 2017 it announced two projects that will together add some 106,000 m3 of storage capacity and five truck loading bays, which will take total capacity up to almost 280,000 m3. The investment is underpinned by long-term customer contracts. All the new tankage is expected to be commissioned in the second quarter of 2019.

Avant, Mexico Avant Energy is planning a network of distribution terminals in the Bajio region of northern Mexico, linked by rail to a new marine terminal at Altamira, which will handle tankers of Panamax size and a storage capacity of up to 1.2m bbl (190,000 m3) for refined products. An inland terminal is planned at Querétaro, with direct connections to Kansas City Southern’s Mexican rail network. Construction work on the two terminals is expected to start shortly, with commercial operations scheduled for end 2019.

Sempra, Mexico Sempra energy’s Mexican subsidiary Infraestructura Energética Nova (IEnova) has been awarded a 20-year build-andoperate contract for a marine terminal in the port of Veracruz on Mexico’s Gulf coast. The terminal, expected to cost some $155m, will offer 1.4m bbl (222,600 m3) of capacity for the receipt and storage of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for supply to central Mexico. Startup is scheduled in the second half of 2018.

IEnova has also announced plans to build a storage terminal at the La Jovita Energy Hub in Ensenada, Baja California. The $130m Baja Refinados fuel terminal will have an initial capacity of 1.0m bbl (160,000 m3) for diesel and gasoline, around half of which has been contracted to Chevron to supply its service stations and other consumers in Baja California. Startup is due in second half 2020.

USD, Mexico USD Group has begun work on a new multimodal transloading facility, Querétaro Energy Terminal, to serve the local market in central Mexico. The terminal will be serviced by Kansas City Southern’s Mexican rail operation, with links to all major North American railroads. “Our investment in QET provides an attractive opportunity to establish a presence in the growing Mexican market while leveraging our logistics expertise in support of an existing and profitable business,” says Steve Magness, USDG’s vicepresident, business development.

USD Group is also expanding its network of refined products terminals in Mexico, through its local subsidiary USD Marketing Mexico. It is planning two facilities in the central Chihuahua area, the first of which is expected to be in service in the middle of 2018. It will include storage capacity and rail and truck transloading capabilities. Both terminals will be serviced by Ferromex, which provides access to all North American Class 1 railroads.

Vopak, Panama Vopak is currently building a new 360,000m3 terminal in Bahía Las Minas on the Atlantic coast in Panama. Once opened in second quarter 2019, the terminal’s nine storage tanks will handle bunker fuels, fuel oil and clean products and will be able to accommodate tankers of up to 80,000 dwt. NORTHERN EUROPE

ITC Rubis, Belgium ITC Rubis has completed work on tank pit 5A as part of the Phase II expansion of its terminal in Antwerp. The new pit has a range of tanks with total capacity of 10,100 m3 . Work started in September 2015 and was finished in December 2017. Phase II also involves addition of new deepwater berths and the company says it is looking at adding extra pressurised gas tanks.

Noord Natie, Belgium Noord Natie is expanding its Antwerp terminal with 32,700 m3 of new stainless steel tankage in two tank pits, due for completion by the end of this year. The company is looking to continue expanding capacity at the site through to 2022.

SEA-Invest, Belgium To serve a contract with Total, SEA-Invest is adding eight new 20,000-m3 tanks at its Antwerp terminal, along with new loading and unloading bays and a pipeline link to the Total refinery. The Port of Antwerp is supporting the project by dredging to increase the depth alongside the terminal to 15.5 metres.

Vesta Terminals, Belgium Vesta Terminals began FEED work last year on a potential 150,000-m3 expansion of its Antwerp terminal to improve vessel turnaround times. The terminal handles middle distillates, light ends and heavy fuels. The project, due for completion in early 2019, will also add two barge berths at the site.

Vopak, Belgium Vopak ACS is expanding its block train loading capacity in Antwerp, primarily to handle acetyls. The terminal will consolidate rail shipments from producers in Germany for onward transport by sea. The new loading station will increase rail capacity by 400 per cent, Vopak says. “We are very pleased to be »

ITC RUBIS CONTINUES TO ADD TO ITS

able to make this investment in a very modern, efficient loading station for block trains,” says Manon Bloemer, head of Vopak Belgium. “It offers further logistical benefits for our customers, and reinforces the already strong position of Antwerp as the chemical hub for North-West Europe.”

ATLHA, Germany ATLHA Terminals has secured the rights to build a 70,000-m3 petroleum terminal in Duisburg, Germany. The operator says the facility, due to open in the first quarter of 2020, will handle gasoline, ethanol, biodiesel and chemicals. Amsterdam-based ATLHA was formed last year with the aim of offering terminalling and logistics services to major oil traders. It currently has a 40,000-m3 terminal in southern Spain, with expansion options, and is working on plans to build a 2.5m-m3 greenfield terminal in Europoort, Rotterdam for crude oil and condensate.

UTG, Germany UTG Unabhängige Tanklogistik is expanding and upgrading its Kiel tank farm. After signing two long-term transhipment contracts, UTG has started work to install a rail tank wagon unloading station for heavy fuel oil and a road tanker loading station. It will also increase unloading and loading rates to improve throughput of petroleum products and lubricants.

HES International, Netherlands HES Botlek Tank Terminal has put its latest expansion, totalling 277,000 m3 of new capacity, into service. Total capacity at the site now stands at some 490,000 m3. Work is expected to start soon on the next phase of construction, which will add another 130,000 m3 of tank capacity and a jetty capable of handling Suezmax tankers.

Parent HES International is also working on the new Hartel Tank Terminal at Maasvlakte 1, also in Rotterdam, which is expected onstream early in 2019.

LBC, Netherlands LBC Tank Terminals last year upgraded jetty facilities at its Rotterdam terminal, enabling faster vessel turnaround. A new jetty is due to be added this year, which will double throughput capacity ahead of planned expansion of the site’s storage capacity.

Alpha Terminals, Netherlands Switzerland-based Alpha Terminals is planning a €250m investment in a new liquid bulk terminal in Vlissingen. Permit applications will be entered this year for a 500,000-m3 facility, capable of handling chemicals, oil products and new energy liquids, including ammonia. Startup is scheduled for 2020.

Odfjell Terminals, Netherlands Odfjell has completed the extension and strengthening of the jetty at its Rotterdam terminal in order to be able to handle LR2 product tankers up to 160,000 dwt. The work, undertaken in collaboration with the Port of Rotterdam, anticipates an increase in the size of vessels calling at the terminal in light of changes in product trades and the demand for distillation at the terminal’s PID unit. “We are responding to the wishes of our customers to handle ever larger ships,” says Erik Kleine, managing director of Odfjell Terminals Rotterdam. “We appreciate that the Port Authority supports us by deepening the Petroleumhaven.”

Vopak, Netherlands Vopak is to expand its existing terminal in Botlek, Rotterdam. The work will involve construction of 15 new stainless steel storage tanks, totalling 63,000 m3 capacity, for styrene and other chemicals. The work is due for completion in the second quarter 2020.

Inter Terminals, UK Last year Inter Terminals completed its largest development project for a decade at its Seal Sands terminal. Work included 27,000 m3 of new capacity for chemicals, additional pipeline links to local chemical plants and a new road tanker loading facility.

NuStar, UK NuStar Energy has completed the first phase of a £25m investment project at its terminal in Grays, UK. A new jetty, capable of handling tankers of up to 125,000 dwt, received its first vessel on 4 January 2018; a second jetty was subsequently added. In addition, four new road loading gantries have been commissioned, with another one being added in the second phase. On completion, the terminal will have seven retail and five separate commercial loading bays.

“This upgrade is a strategic investment for NuStar on the Thames and it will provide significant growth potential,” says David McLoughlin, UK vice-president of NuStar. “Independent supply in the south-east of England is critical to the competitiveness of the region and our clients have been fully supportive of this investment, which will enable the terminal to receive larger cargoes at a significantly faster rate than previously possible.”

MEDITERRANEAN

Altintel, Turkey Altintel completed a 24,000-m3 expansion of its terminal in Gebze in May 2017 and is considering a further similar project. The company is also looking at developing vacant land at its port, which could result in the terminal more than doubling in capacity to some 200,000 m3 .

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

Oman Tank Terminal, Oman Plans for the massive Raz Markaz crude oil storage terminal are moving forward after Oman Tank Terminal Company was granted usufruct rights by the Duqm Special Economic Zone Authority in July 2017. Under the 40-year agreement, OTTCO will build and operate a terminal with an eventual capacity of 25m bbl (4.1m m3). The terminal will be developed in five phases over ten years at an overall cost of close to $6bn. Third parties will be invited to take shares in the project.

Orpic, Oman Oman Oil Refineries & Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) began operations at the Al Jefnain terminal, part of the Muscat Suhar Product Pipeline project, in March 2018. The company is supplying fuels by truck to local marketers and is aiming to start supply aviation fuel to Muscat International Airport by the end of the year. Fuel is currently being supplied to the terminal by pipeline from Orpic’s Suhar refinery.

The Al Jefnain terminal, with a capacity of some 170,000 m3, expands Oman’s capacity for refined products storage by 70 per cent. Orpic Logistic is a joint venture between stateowned Orpic and CLH of Spain.

Oiltanking, Mozambique Oiltanking commissioned its new terminal in Matola, Mozambique in November 2017. The terminal has an initial capacity of 58,600 m3 with land available for expansion; Oiltanking is planning another 70,000 m3 of liquids storage and a 33,000-m3 LPG facility at the site.

Oiltanking has a second terminal planned for Mozambique, which will be located in Beira. Both facilities, in which Oiltanking has an 80 per cent shareholding, are designed to improve fuel supply logistics into Mozambique and neighbouring countries. “Mozambique is one of the main transit hubs for petroleum products on Africa’s east coast. The recent transaction and the other projects will further strengthen Oiltanking’s presence in Africa and enhance our ability to serve new market segments on the east coast of the continent,” says Lo Vanhaelen, managing director of Oiltanking Matola.

Bidvest, South Africa Bidvest Tank Terminals is to build a 22,600-tonne LPG storage facility at its terminal in Richards Bay, South Africa, following an agreement with LPG trader Petredec Ltd. The completed facility will be the region’s largest pressurised LPG import terminal, with four mounded tanks, each with a capacity of 5,500 tonnes. Bidvest expects to have it in service late in 2019.

THE OPENING OF THE NEW ORPIC TERMINAL Burgan Cape, South Africa Burgan Cape Terminal officially opened for business in the third quarter of 2017. The new 122,000-m3 facility is a joint venture between Vitol, which owns 70 per cent, and two local firms, Thebe Investment Corp and Jicaro. It is initially being used to handle diesel and gasoline, with the option to offer blending of bioethanol and biodiesel. Product is imported by vessel, with the terminal’s jetty capable of handling ships up to 50,000 dwt, and loaded onto trucks via a fully automated rack for onward distribution.

Oiltanking Grindrod Calulo, South Africa Transnet, the South African national ports authority, last year awarded Oiltanking Grindrod Calulo a build-own-operatetransfer (BOOT) contract to develop a bulk liquids facility in the port of Ngqura, near Port Elizabeth in Eastern Cape province. An initial 150,000 m3 of storage capacity is due to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2019. Further phases anticipate another 550,000 m3 of capacity. The first phase will replace tanks currently used for petroleum products in Port Elizabeth; those tanks will be decommissioned and the land redeveloped in line with plans to concentrate on commercial and tourism sectors. Once complete, the terminal will provide oil majors, traders and new entrants to the South African oil industry with a modern facility for handling refined products, while also supporting the local shipping industry. »

Vopak, South Africa Vopak has two ongoing projects in South Africa, where it holds a 70 per cent interest in facilities in Durban and Lesedi. Work to add 130,000 m3 of new refined products capacity under the Growth 4 Project in Duban is underway and due for completion by the end of 2019. Fluor Corp was awarded the EPC contract late last year. In addition, work has started on the new Lesedi terminal, which will offer 100,000 m3 of capacity for refined products. Both facilities are part of a larger programme to help meet growing fuel demand in southern Africa.

Sahara, Tanzania In December 2017 Sahara Group commissioned a new 36,000-m3 fuel terminal in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The facility is designed as a strategic hub for the distribution of fuels within Tanzania and other parts of East Africa. The storage capacity is split equally between automotive gasoil and gasoline; the terminal has 12 loading bays, giving the capacity to load up to 120 road tankers per day.

SOUTH ASIA

Attock, Pakistan Pakistan State Oil and Attock Petroleum have opened a new tank farm to handle jet fuel at New Islamabad International Airport, the largest airport in Pakistan. The tank farm can handle 10,000 tonnes of product and is equipped with the latest fire detection, alarm and firefighting systems.

VTTI, Pakistan VTTI has taken a 51 per cent ownership interest in a greenfield terminal currently under construction near Karachi. The 233,400-m3 terminal will be used to store a range of petroleum products. “VTTI’s expertise and knowledge of the industry as well as its international network, combined with the support of our local partners, Hascol and Fossil, will ensure the future terminal is one of the key independent regional terminals required to supply the growing domestic market,” VTTI says. CPC, Sri Lanka Ceylon Petroleum Corp (CPC) is to build 10 new storage tanks at its main import terminal at Kolonawwa, near the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. The additional 11,200-tonne capacity will help CPC supply rising demand for fuel, which has been growing at 7 per cent per year since the country’s civil war ended in 2009.

SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Vopak, Indonesia Vopak and its joint venture partner PT AKR Corporindo are to expand the Jakarta Tank Terminal by 100,000 m3, taking total tank capacity to more than 350,000 m3. JTT mainly serves the greater Jakarta fuel distribution market and the expansion is needed to cope with rapidly increasing gasoline consumption and Indonesia’s biofuel blending mandate. The expansion, due to be commissioned over the course of 2019, will include eight new tanks for gasoline, ethanol and biodiesel, a new vapour recovery unit and additional in-line blending equipment.

Dialog, Malaysia Dialog Group has struck a deal with Johor Corp to lease additional land in Tanjung Langsat, which will allow construction of a third tank terminal. The two existing Langsat terminals have a combined capacity of 647,000 m3, handling a range of refined products; capacity of the new terminal will be around 300,000 m3. Dialog has not yet indicated a likely date for the completion of the work.

Pengerang Deepwater Terminals, Malaysia The partners in the Pengerang Independent Terminals project, which include Dialog Group and Vopak, are to proceed with a further expansion of the project. A total of 24 new tanks for clean petroleum products are to be built, which will add 430,000 m3 of additional capacity and take the site’s total capacity up to 1.7m m3. The new tankage is due to come onstream progressively from first quarter 2019.

Funding has also been arranged for the PT2SB terminal at Pengerang, which will mainly serve the new refinery and petrochemical complex being built by Petronas. The 1.5m m3 terminal, which will handle crude oil, refined products, chemicals and LPG, is due for completion by third quarter 2019.

Dialog Group has also entered into agreements to advance Phase 3 of the Pengerang Deepwater Terminals, in which Dialog will have an 80 per cent holding. This phase will be built on reclaimed land adjacent to the second phase, and include tankage for refined products and chemicals »

and deepwater jetties; it will also have land available for downstream refining and petrochemical production.

PCSPC, Philippines Philippine Coastal Storage & Pipeline Corp completed the construction of 540,000 bbl (86,000 m3) of new tankage at its facility in Subic Bay Freeport Zone in third quarter 2017. The work included three new tanks and two truck loading racks, which were delivered on time and on budget by Aboitiz Construction. Capacity at the site now stands at 5.2m bbl for diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and fuel oil.

Phoenix, Philippines Phoenix Petroleum has opened its ninth distribution terminal in the Philippines, a 15,000-m3 facility in Consolacion, Cebu. The terminal will be used to store diesel, gasoline and fuel oils for the retail market in Cebu province as well as for transport and construction firms in the Visayas region.

Vopak, Singapore Vopak is to build a 67,000-m3 expansion of its Sebarok terminal in Singapore, designed to cater for growing demand for marine gasoil ahead of the arrival of the IMO global sulphur cab in marine fuels from 1 January 2020. The new tankage is expected to be ready in the third quarter of 2019.

THE NEW WEIFANG TERMINAL TAKES ADVANTAGE NORTH ASIA

Weifang Liquid Terminal, China The new Weifang Liquid Terminal opened last year, with an initial capacity of 406,000 m3 for petroleum products and chemical storage. A second phase of 91,000 m3 was commissioned in fourth quarter 2017, while a third phase is under construction and will add a further 164,000 m3 in the first half of 2019. “The launch of our liquid terminals is timely to capture the growing market for crude and refined oil, as well as chemicals in China. These commodities have benefitted from the gradual liberalisation of import and export policies in China,” says Timothy Lee Chi Tim, vice-chairman of Weifang Sime Darby Liquid Terminal Co. The project is a joint venture between Sime Darby Overseas and Dragon Crown Group Holdings.

AUSTRALASIA

Viva Energy, Australia Viva Energy last year put into service a 100,000-m3 crude oil storage tank at its Geelong refinery in Victoria, Australia. The tank, the country’s largest, increases the company’s storage capacity by 40 per cent. Viva Energy has also added a new jet fuel gantry at the refinery and is planning to install a 25,000-m3 gasoline tank and construct a bitumen export facility.

Mobil, New Zealand Mobil Oil New Zealand is to build two new tanks at its fuel terminal in Lyttelton to replace tanks damaged in a landslide in 2014. “Construction of new tanks will restore fuel storage capacity at our Lyttelton operation, which, along with the Lyttelton-Woolston pipeline and Woolston Terminal, is an important part of the fuel supply chain in the South Island,” says Andrew McNaught, country manager for Mobil. The new tanks, which will be used to store gasoline and diesel, are due in service in 2019.

Timaru, New Zealand Timaru Oil Services Ltd has secured approval from the New Zealand government for a new 44,000-m3 fuel terminal at Timaru Primeport. The facility will have six storage tanks and is designed to improve fuel supplies and boost competition in the local market. HCB