May 2, 2014 [OPIS] - The port of Antwerp handled in the first quarter of this year nearly 15.1 million mt of liquid bulk, marking an annual gain of well over 6% as growth in oil derivatives in the wake of tank-capacity-boosting investments overrode declines in crude oil and chemicals volumes, according to figures obtained from the port authority this week.
Petroleum product throughputs increased by one-tenth from a year ago to 11.1 million mt, while crude oil quantities fell 1.3% to 1.22 million mt (9 million bbl) and chemicals traffic dipped 3.2% to 2.73 million mt, reflecting data gathered by the municipal port authority’s quay inspection unit from terminal operators.
Historical data indicate that oil product flows to and from the port – which is vying with Amsterdam for second rank behind Rotterdam for liquids trade in the Hamburg-Le Havre range — almost doubled within a decade, from 6.26 million mt back in early 2005.
Total tank storage capacity at more than a dozen terminals, which serve a cluster of refineries and chemical plants, has more than doubled, to nearly 7 million cbm, based on capacity figures by individual operators. By contrast, crude oil flows have been shrinking amid drastic changes in Europe’s refinery landscape.
In 2013, oil products throughputs grew at an annual rate of 35%, hitting a high in the third quarter at 11.39 million mt, helped by the startup of a new 920,000-cbm oil products terminal on quay 510 operated by SEA-Tank Terminal Antwerp — jointly owned by SEA-Invest and Glencore. Also, operations resumed at the 5.5 million mt/y (105-110,000 b/d) IBR refinery following investments by its new owner Gunvor.
Crude oil volumes remained volatile last year, struggling to maintain momentum after an initial recovery from sluggish 2012 flows that led to an intra-year high of 1.32 million mt in the second quarter.
“The Antwerp oil and chemical sector has benefited from a steady stream of investments in recent years,” the port authority said last summer when growth was still building momentum, naming eight companies that invested “heavily” in storage capacity for oil products, chemicals and gases over recent years.
Storage and transhipment terminal operators investing in capacity include:
– SEA-Tank Terminal;
– Oiltanking Stolthaven Antwerp;
– VTTI’s Antwerp Terminal and Processing Company (ATPC);
– Vopak, which runs the ACS, Eurotank and Vopak Terminal ACS, Leftbank terminals;
– Noord Natie Odfjell Terminals;
– privately-owned Antwerp Distribution and Products Operations (ADPO);
– LBC Tank Terminals for various products and chemicals; and
“Furthermore, various tank storage companies are making large investments that will drive the capacity still higher,” the port authority said.
Other terminal operators in the area are Antwerp Gas Terminal and Mercuria-Sinopec’s joint venture Vesta Terminal Antwerp.
