Oiltanking GmbH is pleased to announce that together with its joint-venture partner Gunvor Group it will construct a green field terminal on the island of Karimun, Indonesia. The facility, which will have an initial storage capacity of 760,000 cbm, is being built to meet the incremental storage needs of the Singapore trading area. Oiltanking Karimun will be managed and operated by Oiltanking as an independent commercial storage facility. Gunvor will take a minority equity stake and rent part of the capacity.

Singapore has historically been the maritime hub of the vibrant Asia-Pacific region. In light of the dynamic and robust growth of the developing Asian countries, petroleum demand in the region has been growing steadily. Expanding refining capacities are fueling incremental flows of petroleum products that are finding their way to the Asian demand centers. This growth in supply and demand is resulting in additional flows of products into the region through the Malacca Strait. This trend is projected to persist over the coming years, resulting in additional storage demand in Singapore.

While Singapore’s storage capacity has been growing steadily over the last decade, further growth is hampered by the scarcity of waterfront and lack of land available for new expansions. As an alternative to the tightening storage in Singapore, Oiltanking has selected the island of Karimun (Riau Islands, Indonesia) as the optimal location for a green field terminal. The location is ideal due to its proximity to Jurong Island (Singapore’s industrial petroleum and petrochemical hub) and the existing ship-to-ship operations off the coast of Karimun, its favorable nautical conditions and availability of ready-to-build land.

The terminal, which is expected to be operational by the 2nd quarter of 2015, will cater to the storage and handling of both clean petroleum products and black oil. The initial capacity will be supported by four jetties capable of accommodating vessels of up to VLCC dimensions. The terminal has ample land for further expansion.

About Oiltanking GmbH
Oiltanking GmbH is a subsidiary of Marquard & Bahls AG, Germany, a leading petroleum company, privately owned. Oiltanking is the second largest independent tank storage provider for petroleum products, chemicals and gases worldwide. The company owns and operates 75 terminals in 23 countries within Europe, North and South America, Middle East, India as well as Asia. Oiltanking has an overall storage capacity of 20.3 million cubic meters.

About Gunvor Group
Gunvor Group is one of the world’s largest independent commodities trading houses by turnover, creating logistics solutions that safely and efficiently move physical energy from where it is sourced and stored to where it is demanded most. With strategic investments in energy infrastructure—refineries, pipelines, storage, terminals and coal mining—Gunvor further generates sustainable value across the global supply chain for its customers.