Singapore-based Trescorp is to launch a new 45-hectare terminal in Sohar Port, Oman, with an investment of USD600 million. The new facility will feature six deep-water berths, with 25 metre drafts, one of them capable of receiving VLCC oil tankers of up to 320,000dwt (supertankers).
The new terminal will occupy space in Sohar Port South, a recently announced land reclamation project designed to create more space for industry at the fast growing Omani hub. In its first phase, the terminal will be equipped to receive, store and blend crude oil, fuel oil and diesel. Expansion plans for phase two include gasoline blending, jet fuel, asphalt and a lube oil blending plant.
The strategic location of Sohar Port, outside the Strait of Hormuz, but close to the Gulf States and the Indian subcontinent, was a key factor in the investment, according to Trescorp.
Construction of phase-one will commence next year, with an initial storage capacity of 600,000 m3, while future expansion plans will take the total storage capacity up to 1.8 million m3. Operations are set to commence by 2020.
Hamood Al Hashmi, Chairman of Trescorp, explained: “The forecasts for the growth of petroleum trading in the Gulf area are far greater than the available storage capacity, which is still relatively small compared to combined storage at Port of Singapore and Johor Port that totals around 20 million m3.”
Five hectares of the new Trescorp development are allocated for the development of a Lubrication Park that will blend various grades of lubricating oil products, including marine grade lubricants. Supply of the products will include bulk delivery using lube barges to tankers bunkering in Sohar Port. Road tanker access to the new facility is also planned.
Mark Geilenkirchen, SOHAR CEO, summed up the background to the new project: The commercial viability is to leverage existing petroleum trading infrastructures in Dubai, potentially adding offshore floating storage facilities in our new anchorage area. There is enormous potential for the growth of oil trading and storage activities in the Gulf and we are delighted to be able to work with Trescorp to add a new level of service to our world-class facilities here in Sohar.”
