Ports & Storage
May / June 2017
Vopak will take a 30 percent stake in the Ridley Island propane project
Vopak in Ridley propane stake
Vopak and AltaGas have entered into a joint venture to invest in the development of the Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal ( RIPET ), BC , Canada . In the previous edition of STM we reported that AltaGas was to go ahead with RIPET , having received approval from Canadian federal regulators . Now Vopak will take a 30 percent stake in the project , underpinned by long term customer contracts . The Dutch storage giant said RIPET is in line with its long-term strategy where storage and handling of gas has been earmarked as one of the focus areas . Canada has a structural surplus in gas and natural gas liquids for which Asia is an important export market . “ We are excited to form this joint venture with Vopak and have them as a partner in RIPET ,” said David Harris , president and CEO of AltaGas . “ Vopak is a very strategic global tank storage company and brings significant experience in terminals worldwide . We look forward to working with them on RIPET as well as considering future opportunities to further build out our joint venture .” “ We are very much looking forward to working together with AltaGas in this new partnership ,” commented Eelco Hoekstra chairman and CEO of Royal Vopak . “ Storage and handling of gas is an important strategic focus area for us ( and ) we are confident that we have found a strong partner in AltaGas which is a well-respected Canadian company with experience in developing energy projects .” The RIPET site is near Prince Rupert , on a section of land leased by Ridley Terminals Inc ( RTI ) from the Prince Rupert
Ports & Storage
Port Authority . The site has a locational advantage given very short shipping distances to markets in Asia , notably a 10-day shipping time compared to 25 days from the US Gulf Coast . The brownfield site also benefits from railway access and ample deepwater access to the Pacific Ocean which is ice-free year round . Propane from British Columbia and Alberta will be transported to the facility using 50-60 rail cars a day through the existing CN rail network . The extensive land and water rights held by RTI and its marine jetty enables the loading of very large gas carriers that can access key global markets without limitation . The project is to be designed to ship 1.2 million tonnes of propane a year , with approximately 96,000 cbm of storage capacity . The facility is expected to be commissioned in Q1 2019 . Separate from RIPET , Vopak has additional land rights on Ridley Island , the two firms will explore the potential to expand their relationship there . In Brazil , Vopak is expanding its wholly-owned terminal in Alemoa , which is located in Port of Santos , Latin America ’ s largest port . The expansion will add 16 new tanks with a capacity of 61,000 cbm . The total capacity of the terminal after the expansion will be 235,000 cbm . In addition , five additional truck loading bays will be constructed that are designed to handle up to 130 additional trucks a day . The investment is supported by long term customer contracts .
BULKDISTRIBUTOR
15
Antwerp back to the drawing board
Port of Antwerp is again looking for an investor for the Churchill dock site .
Antwerp Port Authority and Energy Recovery Systems Company ( ERS ) have decided by to cancel the option held by the company on the site . ERS told the port authority that it needed more time to reach the milestones imposed by the port , which means that the option it obtained last year will expire . Despite this ERS is continuing to work on the project for a waste-to-chemicals ( WtC ) plant that it wants to build in the Antwerp port area . In the meantime the port authority is now looking for another investor for the 88ha site in the Churchill dock , and a new international request for proposals will be launched . In May 2015 ERS announced that it wanted to start large-scale production of ‘ green ’ ammonia and ‘ green ’ urea in the port , representing an investment of € 3.7 billion and potential employment of 900 full-time equivalent jobs . In addition to the many possibilities for integration with the Antwerp industrial platform , the WtC plant would represent an important step in the development of the ‘ circular economy ’ as it would use waste from other industries as its raw material . The Delwaide dock was initially considered as a possible location for the new plant . However , further studies convinced both parties that the former Opel site at the Churchill dock was more suitable . Unlike the Churchill site , the Delwaide dock is a deep water site , and various other investors had expressed an interest in it as it offered the necessary direct access to the water that was essential for their projects . One such investor is the SEA-Invest group which has since signed a concession agreement for construction of a new tank storage terminal and an independent container terminal at the Delwaide dock . ERS was given an option on the Churchill site in May 2016 . By that time the consulting company PwC had already carried out an in-depth analysis of the ERS project at the request of the port authority . PwC confirmed the intrinsic value of such a circular economy project for the port , but also called attention to a number of important conditions for it to be successful . Among other things it specified that there had to be more clarity about the technical partners in the project , the financing of the project , its technical feasibility , the quality of the non-recyclable waste and the impact on the existing waste processing industry . The port authority therefore decided to make the option dependent on these points being cleared up . To make sure this was done the points were translated into milestones and deadlines were set for reaching them . It gradually became clear that the ERS project management was incapable of producing the required answers in the time required . At the latest board meeting on 13 March it was therefore decided to give ERS , which had made progress on a number of points but was significantly behind with others , until 8 May to submit a final dossier . ERS subsequently announced on 17 April that it was unable to meet this timing . The port authority is looking for new investments for the Churchill Industrial Zone , with the basic requirement to attract employment and high added value .
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The Churchill Dock is the site of a former Opel car factory
Alkion takes on LBC sites
Alkion Terminals and LBC Tank Terminals have struck a deal under which Alkion will acquire LBC ’ s 50 percent stake in LBC Sogestrol and full ownership of four terminals in France ( Bayonne , Le Havre , Marseille , Nantes ), two in Spain ( Cartagena and Santander ) and the Lisbon terminal in Portugal . In parallel , Alkion is also buying the 50 percent shareholding of Sogestran in LBC Sogestrol , giving it full ownership of the Gonfreville facility , adjacent to Total Group ’ s refinery . Established in 2016 as a new independent tank terminal operator focusing on Western Europe , Alkion is creating a network of tank terminals that perform a primary role in the hydrocarbon downstream value chain . Currently Alkion owns a terminal in Amsterdam . Following completion of the transactions with LBC and Sogestran Alkion will be operating well over 1 million cbm of capacity at nine terminals in four countries . The newcomer intends to invest further in improving and expanding the assets in the eight newly-acquired facilities . Alkion Terminals is a partnership between InfraVia Capital Partners and Coloured Finches .