News bulletin – storage terminals

NEWS BULLETIN

STORAGE TERMINALS

OILTANKING OUT OF ESTONIA

Oiltanking has agreed the sale of its Tallinn terminal in Muuga, Estonia (above) to Aqua Marina, holding company of leading Estonian fuel distributor Olerex Group.

“Oiltanking is constantly evaluating and optimising its terminal portfolio worldwide. Product flows in the Baltic Sea area have changed considerably in the recent years, meaning that the capabilities of Oiltanking Tallinn could be better utilised by a new strong import-focused owner,” says Karl Henrik Dahl, Oiltanking’s director, west of Suez.

The 78,550-m3 terminal provides road tanker and tank container loading infrastructure for the local and regional distribution of road fuels and chemicals. On completion of the sale, which is subject to competition approval, it will be renamed Olerex Terminal.

“Olerex distributes more than a quarter of the entire Estonian retail consumption of automotive fuels,” says Antti Moppel, Olerex chairman. “These volumes and the Oiltanking terminal with its sea and rail access are a perfect match, helping us to further optimise the fuels handling and distributing costs. Lower fuel handling costs help to keep our prices at forecourts reasonable.” www.oiltanking.com olerex.ee

BUYER SOUGHT FOR INTER

Inter Pipeline has announced it is exploring the potential sale of its European bulk liquids storage business, Inter Terminals.

“Inter Terminals is a high-quality business with outstanding management and staff. It has made an important contribution to the success and growth of Inter Pipeline over the past 14 years,” says Christian Bayle, president/CEO of Inter Pipeline. “Our decision to explore alternatives is consistent with Inter Pipeline’s practice of making prudent long-term portfolio management decisions particularly in light of our organic growth initiatives.”

Should a buyer be found, proceeds from the sale could be used to pay down debt and to finance Inter Pipeline’s capital expenditure programme, including development of the Heartland petrochemical complex. Any sale is not expected to have an impact on Inter Terminals’ operations, which are continuing as normal. Inter Pipeline has not established a definitive timeline to complete this process and there is no assurance that a transaction will result from it, although the company has confirmed that it has received an unsolicited offer for Inter Terminals.

Inter Terminals delivered funds from operations of C$26.9m in the second quarter 2019, up from C$17.4m last year following the integration of NuStar Energy’s European terminals in the UK and the Netherlands.

Inter Pipeline notes that the acquired terminals operated at a 96 per cent utilisation rate through the quarter, although overall utilisation was 83 per cent, slightly down on the year earlier level but a marked improvement on the first quarter. Indeed, with customer interest improving, particularly in Denmark, utilisation in July averaged 90 per cent across the network. interterminals.com

ASCC BUYS STOLT SITE

Stolt-Nielsen has sold its Altona terminal in Melbourne, Australia to Australasian Solvents & Chemicals Company (ASCC), which specialises in the blending, storage and warehousing of chemicals and non-chemical products.

“ASCC is very excited by this new addition to our group of companies,” says ASCC Group CEO Leanne Wilkins. “For ASCC to invest in Altona, we know that we are committing to the Australian manufacturing markets long term. Altona will continue its operations in supplying quality blending, storage and distribution facilities to existing and future customers and will retain all current employees on the site. ASCC looks forward to servicing our valued customers.” www.ascc.net.au

JPTT A HIT FOR SINGAPORE

Jurong Port Tank Terminals (JPTT), a 60/40 joint venture between Jurong Port and Oiltanking, has been formally opened, although it has been in partial service since April. JPTT also reports that PetroChina has leased the entire phase 1 capacity of 252,000 m 3 for clean products; it will be mainly used for gasoline and blending components. A second phase of construction will take capacity up to 550,000 m3; talks are currently underway with potential clients. The terminal can handle tankers of up to Suezmax size and is linked by direct pipelines to Jurong Island’s refining and petrochemical cluster.

“This is a significant step for us as we move forward with our vision to become Singapore’s next generation multipurpose port,” says Ooi Boon Joe, CEO of Jurong Port and chairman of JPTT. “We see Jurong Port Tank Terminals as a key part in the renewal and upgrading of Singapore’s competitiveness in storage infrastructure. The joint venture with Oiltanking will meet the demand for top quality and integrated storage infrastructure emerging from petrochemical product flows into south-east Asia.”

Douglas van der Wiel, president of Oiltanking Asia Pacific, adds: “The need for supporting infrastructure to manage the increasing demand in Asia for petroleum products created the need for JPTT. The terminals will be able to handle the demand from the region and help strengthen the integrated terminal network concept and overall value offering to the market. This is the embodiment of Oiltanking’s vision for the Singapore Straits, reinforcing Singapore’s international maritime energy and chemicals hub status.” www.jp.com.sg

MORE CHANGE AT ODFJELL

Odfjell has finalised the sale of its 55 per cent indirect equity interest in Odfjell Terminals (Jiangyin) Co, a 100,000-m3 bulk liquids storage terminal and jetty serving the greater Shanghai area, to Yangzijiang Shipbuilding for some $46m. Odfjell expects to book a capital gain of around $21m net in its thirdquarter results.

“We are pleased to have concluded the sale of our Jiangyin terminal and its jetty at what we believe is a fair valuation that is a testimony to the strength and quality of the investments made since 2007,” says Kristian Mørch, CEO of Odfjell SE. “This divestment is in line with our strategy to grow and focus on chemical terminals in locations where we can harvest synergies with Odfjell Tankers. We appreciate the cooperation we have had with our partner Jiangsu Garson Gas Co Ltd in China, and wish them and their new partner Yangzijiang Shipbuilding a successful future in further developing the full potential of the terminal and its jetty.”

The sale is associated with Lindsay Goldberg’s ongoing disposal of its 49 per cent shareholding in Odfjell Terminals BV. Following the completion of the sale of its shareholdings in the US and European terminals, Lindsay Goldberg is currently selling its stake in Odfjell Terminals Asia Holding.

The resulting restructuring in Odfjell Terminals has prompted a change at the top, with Adrian Lenning having been appointed as the new global head. Lenning, a Norwegian citizen, arrives from Invepar Group in Brazil, where he was general executive, mergers and acquisitions. He will be based in Bergen. “We are very pleased to welcome Adrian to Odfjell and look forward to having him lead the future development of our tank terminal division,” says Mørch. “Odfjell SE remains committed to the core terminals we operate. The outlook for terminals at important crossroads of chemicals remains positive, and we continue our work to strengthen Odfjell’s core terminal activities and optimise the synergy potential between terminals and tankers.”

Odfjell Terminals recorded second-quarter revenues of $17.9m, slightly ahead of the prior period but down on the same quarter 2018 as a result of disposals. EBITDA came in at $6.2m, down from $6.7m in the first quarter due to an impairment related to a proposed ethylene project at the Houston site (below), which is not going ahead. www.odfjell.com