The result of investments by large companies
Growth petroleum derivatives compared to same quarter previous year
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On 30 and 31 January Antwerp played host to the Platts Middle Distillates Conference for the first time. That same week the port announced its definitive freight figures for 2013, with liquid bulk performing particularly well: up by an impressive 31.4% to 59,493,776 tonnes. The good figures in the chemicals and oil derivatives sectors were the main contributors to the record overall freight volume in 2013.
Antwerp as international storage and distribution hub
The segment of oil derivatives, with products such as benzene, diesel, domestic heating oil and kerosene, generated the most growth with 43.1 million tonnes of shipping freight. Over the past 13 years this segment has expanded in the port of Antwerp by no less than 200%, making the port the fastest grower in the Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam (ARA) range.
These volumes are the result of investments by a number of large companies in the port, and also demonstrate that the Port Authority’s decision to make space available for tank storage perfectly answered market requirements. This has given a significant boost to the volume of oil derivatives.
The Belgian group Sea-Tank Terminals, for example, has been able to attract various world-class energy companies and traders, and has expanded its storage terminals accordingly. The considerable investments by Antwerp Terminal Processing Company (ATPC) in expanding its tank storage, along with the deepening of the seaward access channels by the Port Authority, have also contributed significantly to the rapid growth in this segment.
When it comes to crude oil, Antwerp experienced growth of 83.4% to 4.7 million tonnes, mainly due to Independent Belgian Refinery (IBR, a member of the Gunvor international energy trading group) which took over the former PetroPlus refinery.
“IBR’s strategic location in the port of Antwerp provides Gunvor with flexible access to both the global hydrocarbon markets and to high-quality utilities via pipeline connections. Gunvor and Antwerp Port Authority have an excellent relationship built on the mutual ambition to maintain the port as one of the leading harbours in Europe,” declared Jerome Schurink, Chief Investment and Operating Officer at Gunvar.
Various other industrial players in Antwerp have further expanded their production: Total, Ferro, Kuwait Petroleum International, BP Lubes, Air Liquide and Praxair have all made large investments in Antwerp. In the meantime the Exxon Mobil refinery is considering further investments.
Tank storage companies such as Oiltanking Stolthaven Antwerpen, LBC, Vopak, ADPO, NoordNatie Odfjell Terminal and ITC Rubis for their part are responsible for the port’s storage capacity expanding by 151% over the past 10 years. The port currently has 15 tank storage terminals with a combined capacity of 6.4 million m. The tank storage companies have stated that they have every intention of further expanding in future, in response to the planned investments by production companies and the increasing volume of international trade. For example, over the past decade Belgium has become the leading European importer of chemical products from the Gulf states.
The Platts conference brought together leading refiners, traders and analysts. The attendees from the oil and chemical industries obtained a unique view of the changing patterns of trade and developments in legislation governing the European and international markets for middle distillates.
Source and Image Credit: Port of Antwerp