The Polish leader in petroleum logistics, PERN “Przyjaźń” S.A., and one of the world’s largest independent operators in the liquid storage industry, Oiltanking GmbH, have agreed to join forcesto develop and build a modern storage and handling terminal for bulk liquids in Gdansk.

For PERN, the terminal presents a long-term opportunity to develop state of the art infrastructure to meet the evolving energy needs of Poland, while diversifying its revenue sources and better utilising its existing assets, thus growing the value of the PERN Group. For Oiltanking, the entry into the fast growing Polish market fulfils strategic goals.

The Storage and Handling Terminal will be built in Port Polnocny, Gdansk. A great advantage of this location is the proximity of Naftoport, which can provide the terminal with their jetty capacity for discharging and loading of tankers of up to 300,000 DWT. The draft in Port Polnocny is 18m. The plot of land dedicated for the development of the Tank Terminal is large enough for the construction of over 800,000 m3 of storage capacity.

The terminal will potentially be able to store and handle crude oil, refined oil and petrochemical products. The parties expect that it will mainly deal with transshipment, distribution, as well as consolidation and breaking of bulk, while providing additional services, such as heating, blending, additivation etc.

The development, construction, management and operations of the terminal will be carried out by an SPV to be called “Oiltanking Pern Gdansk” Sp z o.o., PERN and Oiltanking will each hold 50 per cent of shares in the company.

PERN „Przyjaźń” S.A. is a company with 100 per cent share held by the Treasury. It deals mainly with transportation of crude oil to refineries in Poland and Eastern Germany via the “Przyjaźń” pipeline running from Adamowo to Plock and further to Schwedt as well as the Pomeranian pipeline linking Plock and Gdansk. The reversible Pomeranian pipeline in conjunction with an oil terminal in Gdansk enables import of crude oil from the sea and its transit through Poland. PERN also provides crude oil storage services in its three tank farms in Adamowo, Plock and Gdansk with the total storage volume of nearly 3.0 million m3. PERN also owns a network of product pipelines used for transportation of liquid fuels.