February 18, 2013 [ICIS] - Norway's chemical transportation and storage specialist Odfjell is nearing completion of a feasibility study into construction of a greenfield storage terminal in Le Havre, France.
The study is due to be completed in March, and the company then hopes to sign the site reservation by around 1April, provided a final investment decision is made following the results.
Carl Fredrik Odfjell, vice president of business development and project management at Odfjell Terminals, says that total investment may reach a significant amount if the company enters into the project.
The Odfjell bulk liquid terminal at Le Havre, which will cater for petrochemicals and petroleum-related products such as base oils, will be located on a site of around 30ha (74 acres) along the Grand Canal Maritime which the port authority has put up for tender.
The facility will be built in stages: the first phase will have a capacity of up to 200,000m3, and commercial operation could begin in 2017.
The storage operator will also have to invest in some marine infrastructure and is currently studying various alternatives.
“We are looking at one or two jetties. The number of berth positions will be of key importance and we are considering two deepsea berths with a draught of 14-15m,” says Odfjell.
An investment like this is of strategic importance for Odfjell, which wants to strengthen its presence in Northwest Europe’s three largest ports for chemical liquids and specialty fluids, namely Le Havre, Rotterdam (the Netherlands) and Antwerp (Belgium).
Odfjell comments: “There is a strong chemical cluster in Le Havre and we have major customers there. This terminal will give us the opportunity to work closer with global customers.”
He adds that there is a lot of opportunity along the Seine, and the port’s rail connection also gives access Europe. “We hope to capture some of that business,” Odfjell says.
The company is continuing to look at investment opportunities in Europe, although not aggressively admits Odfjell given the state of the economy.
“We feel this opportunity in Northern Europe is quite unique and we would now like to grow in other European areas, perhaps in the Baltic or Mediterranean.”
Reflecting on the past year, Odfjell says that demand has slowed down and there has been a lot of backwardation in the market, which has deterred traders from taking positions. Optimistically, he says: “We hope there will be growth this year but there remains uncertainty in the tank terminal storage market.
