Royal Vopak has acquired 80% of the shares in the Spanish company Alpetrol from Novaro, a subsidiary of the Russian oil company NK Alliance. Alpetrol holds a concession granted by the Algeciras Port Authorities and obtained all relevant permits for the construction and operation of a bulk liquid storage terminal in the port of Algeciras. The remaining 20% of the shares are held by Vilma Oil, a Spanish company that provides oil related logistical and technical services.

Through Alpetrol, Vopak and its partner Vilma Oil will start the construction of a storage terminal for oil products with a capacity of 403,000 cubic meters in the port of Algeciras. The terminal, which will be named Vopak Terminal Algeciras, is the first to offer independent bunker storage services in Algeciras and is expected to be commissioned in mid-2012.

Algeciras is strategically located on the Straits of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea. This is a key transit area at the crossroads of the world’s main shipping lanes that connect Europe, West Africa, America and Asia. Together with the ports of Ceuta and Gibraltar, the port of Algeciras is part of the second largest European market place for bunkering services and an important logistic hub.