News bulletin – storage terminals

NEWS BULLETIN

STORAGE TERMINALS

ACT TO BUILD IN ABU DHABI

Abu Dhabi Ports has signed a strategic agreement with Arabian Chemical Terminals (ACT) for the development of a greenfield bulk liquids storage terminal at the deepwater Khalifa Port. The terminal, the first commercial facility in Abu Dhabi, will be developed on a 50,000-m2 plot of land adjacent to a quay with 16 m water alongside, with an option on a further 150,000 m2 of land. It is envisaged that the terminal will be developed in two phases, the first scheduled for commissioning in the second half of 2022 with 44 tanks of 1,250 tonnes and 3,000 tonnes capacity; a second phase will include larger tanks and gas spheres.

“Located between Abu Dhabi, Ruwais, and Dubai industries, the new liquid terminal will not only prosper as a result of its strategic location, but will be further bolstered by Khalifa Port’s multimodal connectivity with access to the sea and UAE’s extensive road and future GCC railway network,” says Rakan Alireza (above right), managing director of ACT. “In addition to supporting our overseas expansion strategy, the project will also provide the foundation for other potential terminal activities within the emirate of Abu Dhabi.”

ACT is exploring further opportunities to expand its service offering in and around Khalifa Port, including the facilitation of bunkering services, drumming and tank container filling services, ADR trucking and distribution, and stevedoring services to support other liquid product transfers. arabianchemicalterminals .com www.adports.ae

INTER TERMINALS SALE ON HOLD

Inter Pipeline Fund has halted the divestment of its European bulk liquids storage division, Inter Terminals. “Despite being at an advanced stage of this process, we have made the decision to suspend sale activities,” says Christian Bayle, Inter Pipeline’s president/CEO. “Europe, like the rest of the world, is urgently addressing the Covid-19 pandemic. All European countries we operate in have recently implemented sensible measures to greatly restrict travel and human contact. Potential purchasers of this business have been significantly affected which has had a material impact on the execution of our process. This is clearly not the right environment to pursue and complete a major pan-European transaction, though we may revisit this process at a later date.”

Inter reports that demand for storage capacity is currently at very high levels, with tank utilisation currently standing at some 95 per cent. www.interpipeline.com

ODFJELL GETS CASH FOR HOUSTON

Odfjell Terminals US (OTUS) has secured a new five-year, $250m revolving credit facility that will be used to refinance existing debt and fund expansion plans. Odfjell SE, which owns 51 per cent of OTUS alongside Northleaf Capital Partners, said in its annual report that it expects Houston to be the focus of its investment in the near future.

“This is an important milestone for our terminal portfolio in the US, as it positions the company to expand its terminal footprint in Houston, one of the strongest growth areas and key hubs for petrochemicals in the world,” says

CFO Terje Iversen. “The financing ensures that OTUS can embark on accretive growth opportunities and remain self-funded. We are also pleased to conclude attractive bank financing, from existing and new lenders, at a time of financial turmoil and consider this a testament to the strong outlook for the US terminals.” www.odfjell.com

WIBAX EXPANDS TANKAGE

Wibax is to build two new distribution terminals in Skelleftehamn in northern Sweden at a cost of SKr 15m (€1.4m). The new terminals will be sited near to the company’s existing facilities in Skellefteå and double storage capacity in the area to 177,000 m3 across 44 storage tanks.

“The goal of our terminals is to use them in conjunction with our vehicles to offer a unique logistics solution, close to our customers, allowing us to minimise the transportation of goods whilst maximising supply reliability,” explains Magnus Sundström, managing director of Wibax Logistics. wibax.com

HARTEL ON TRACK

Visser & Smit Hanab has completed the subsea pipelines (right) that will link the new HES Hartel Tank Terminal in Rotterdam to the nearby BP refinery. The work was completed on time and within budget. The news comes hard on the heels of the completion by the Port of Rotterdam Authority of a new 1,200-metre deepsea quay wall, a connection to the existing quay wall and a new 350-metre jetty with four berths. Soil and dredging works were also carried out.

The 1.3m-m3 terminal, which will be the first to be built according to the latest PGS 29 regulations in the Netherlands, is due to be completed next year. The terminal will be primarily used for the transhipment of petroleum products and biofuels. www.hesinternational.eu

TRADE SLUMP AT ROTTERDAM

The Port of Rotterdam reports a sharp drop in liquid bulk throughput in the first quarter, with oil products volumes down by 32.8 per cent at 14.16m tonnes. The fall in the trading of fuel oil between Russia and Singapore, which has often involved storage in Rotterdam, has continued, with Russian fuel oil exports now largely heading directly to the US for refining. Diesel exports also fell as supplies were diverted to the local bunkering market following the introduction of the ‘IMO 2020’ rule on sulphur emissions.

Crude oil import volumes dropped by 8 per cent to 25.8m tonnes on the back of a stockbuild in late 2019. However, there was a 9.3 per cent increase in the volume of chemicals and biofuels handled at the port, to 8.31m tonnes; the Port says it is increasingly becoming a central logistics location for the distribution of these products in Europe.

Overall throughput in the first quarter was down 9.3 per cent year-on-year at 112.4m tonnes, although container volumes increased once more to record levels. However, the current Covid-19 crisis is clouding expectations for the rest of this year, as CEO Allard Castelein says: “We are facing unprecedented disruptions and the port of Rotterdam, as a vital process, intends to continue contributing to society. The impact of a decline in demand due to the corona crisis will become clear from April onwards. A 10 to 20 per cent drop in throughput volume on an annual basis would seem to be very likely. This will depend on how long the measures remain in place and on how quickly production and world trade recover.” www.portofrotterdam.com

CRUDE INTO SALDANHA

Oiltanking MOGS Saldanha, a joint venture between Oiltanking, MOGS and Industrial Development Corp of South Africa, has commissioned its new crude oil receiving terminal in Saldanha Bay. The facility is connected to an existing jetty that can handle VLCCs. In the first phase of development, nine tanks were built with a total capacity of 9.9m bbl (1.6m m3); further work is continuing that could increase the size of the facility to 13.2m bbl (2.1m m3) if market conditions demand it. www.oiltanking.com