December 24, 2010 [Reuters] - Geneva-based Mercuria, one of the world's top five independent energy traders, plans to build a 6-million-barrel fuel storage facility in Qingdao on China's east coast, a trader with direct knowledge of the plan said.
In a tie-up with two local Chinese partners, the project, to store fuel oil or crude oil, will be Mercuria’s second fuel storage investment after a smaller site also in Qingdao, as the trader looks to expand its energy business in the world’s second-largest oil user.
The new facility at Dongjiakou port would eventually be expanded to about 22 million barrels and cost a total of 4 billion yuan ($606 million), the semi-official news agency China News Service reported on its website www.chinanews.com.cn.
The trader did not give a timeline for when the tank farm would be ready for use. Mercuria already owns part of a 3-million-barrel fuel oil storage in Huangdao
Dongjiakou is home to one of the country’s top iron ore terminals.
