January 06, 2014 [OPIS] - Latvia's Ventspils Nafta transhipment terminal (VNT) has seen crude and oil product throughput volumes plunge by nearly one-fifth year-on-year to 9.64 million mt (72-80 million barrels) in 2013 amid changing trade patterns, the affiliate of trading house Vitol said Thursday.
“2013, especially the second half of the year, has been challenging from the perspective of transhipment volumes due to shifts of product flows in the region based on demand and economics,” the company said in a statement, predicting conditions to remain “challenging” in the year ahead.
In late November, VNT had cited a shortage of light products in the Ukraine, favorable pricing in the Black Sea market and U.S. product exports to Europe as factors denting volumes.
The terminal, located in the ice-free port of Ventspils, handles crude oil and products such as gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, naphtha, gasoil, diesel and n-butane from Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries for storage and export.
The bulk of oil product transits arrive via pipeline — nearly 59% in the first three quarters — and the remainder by railway or sea. Its 105 tanks can store 1.2 million cbm (7.55 million barrels).
VNT accounts for nearly half of total liquid cargo throughput in Latvia and for about 20% of liquid cargo transhipments in the Baltic ports of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, making it the largest petroleum transfer terminal in the Baltic states, according to company information.
Vitol holds a 49% stake in VNT through VTTI-Eurotank holding, and further shares
via its part-ownership of VNT’s main stakeholder Ventspils Nafta group, which controls 51%. The latter is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Baltic exchange (under ‘VNF1R’).
Besides VNT, the Ventspils Nafta group co-owns Latvian-Russian oil product logistics firm LatRosTrans (66%) and the Latvian Shipping Company (LAT, 49.94%), which focuses on handy-size and medium range tankers.
