Vopak is considering more than doubling capacity at the 403,000-cbm facility, which specializes in bunker fuels, to over 1 million cbm. Plans to expand the Algeciras terminal in 2015 were shelved while the company assessed the impact of EU regulation limiting the amount of sulfur content in marine gasoil.
 
Demand for bunker fuels has remained stable over the year, said Silva, with lower oil prices having little impact on business. “We should have a decision [on Algeciras] by the end of the second quarter. We have all the permits in place for an expansion and a few parts to the project in the pipeline, some may come on earlier,” he added.
 
But strong competition to Algeciras and the Mediterranean region is seen from the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp trading hub, which is experiencing significant over-capacity at storage terminals. Vopak also has no plans as yet to diversify the product range for storage at the Algeciras plant. Demand from traders is instead focused on small tanks and blending facilities at the terminal. “We saw a few middle distillate cargoes at the start of the year, but that was purely a contango play by a Med trader,” said Silva. He does not expect to see more distillate cargoes in the near term given the narrowing contango, he said.
 
Vopak has also shifted its focus for growth to include newly commissioned facilities in Asia, in line with a lower oil price environment.
 
Vopak operates a global storage capacity of 34.3 million cbm. The company posted an operating profit of 549.2 million euros for 2015.