April 18, 2016 [OPIS] - Greenergy, the largest importer of diesel to the U.K., has discharged its first cargo into Thames Oilport at the site of the former Coryton refinery.
The Seaconger unloaded 22,000 metric tons of ultra-low sulfur diesel purchased from Russian oil trader Crudex at the port on April 7, according to the OPIS Tanker Tracker.
The site is being converted to a storage facility, with Greenergy announcing it was increasing its stake in the facility last December. The Seaconger is the first of an anticipated six tankers expected to arrive this month, with further cargoes then coming in August. Royal Vopak sold its U.K. assets to Macquarie Capital and privately held Greenergy, which supplies a quarter of the country’s road fuels.
That gave the fuel supplier a 33.3% stake in the Thames Oilport joint venture. The deal was expected to be completed at the end of March, with the cargo arrival on April 7, signaling that this has occurred.
Storage of diesel and jet fuel at onshore terminals in northwest Europe peaked in December, amid an oversupply of the middle distillate and the market in contango. With the spot price persistently higher than the futures price, traders are encouraged to buy refined products and store them for sale at a later date.
As the operator of Thames Oilport, Greenergy has six tanks at the site with about 175,000 cubic meters of storage, sources said.
The Coryton refinery was closed and sold in 2012.
