June 8, 2020 [HES International] – HES Wilhelmshaven Tank Terminal GmbH (HWTT) in Germany, a 100% subsidiary of HES International B.V., is proud to announce the operational start of the Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (LSFO) production unit.

 
The unit has a nameplate capacity of approximately 2.5 million tons of LSFO per year. This start-up creates a unique LSFO market position in Northwest Europe and enables HWTT and HES International to add the production of more environmentally friendly LSFO to its service proposition to the oil & gas industry.

Due to new regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as of January 2020, the maximum sulphur content in bunker fuel for vessels is limited to 0.5% instead of the previous 3.5%. This offered HWTT a unique opportunity to revamp operations of their vacuum distillation unit.

Built in 2004 and operated for only 5 years, the unit was still in good condition and suitable to process a wide range of crude qualities. Upon completion of the revamping works, the LSFO production unit has been extensively commissioned and will now process low sulphur crude oils into LSFO in combination with other valuable rundown products such as gasoil, kerosene and naphtha.

‘All permits are in place to operate the LSFO unit and the related tank storage capacity of over a third of the total terminal of 1.3 million cbm tank storage capacity,’ Managing Director of HWTT Thomas Jenke said.

‘With the commissioning of the LSFO unit, we can add processing again to our business. A special moment for all involved who worked hard to achieve this memorable moment. The good cooperation with the Oldenburg Supervisory Authority and with the Wilhelmshaven Authorities has contributed to this success, as well as the hard work of our employees and contractors. We are very proud of the achieved result: an operational LSFO processing unit which operates safely and compliant, enabling us to meet new market demands.’

With the commitment of a world-class energy major, HWTT has found a solid and reliable throughput partner for our operations for the next few years.

Director Strategy & Business Development of HES International Gerrit Groen added: ‘We very much appreciate the confidence of one of our existing customers at our Wilhelmshaven terminal as a strategic facility to supply their key LSFO markets. The commissioning of the LSFO unit adds another important value to our portfolio. At HES we continue to build a unique platform of best-in-class liquid bulk terminals, including the state of the art HES Botlek Tank Terminal (Rotterdam), the product specific Bitumen terminal (Rotterdam) and the construction of the 1.3 million cbm HES Hartel Tank Terminal in Rotterdam. These investments underline our strategy and the commitment of our shareholders to further grow in the liquid bulk segment, both in storage as well as in ancillary services.’

————-