Bloomberg reported that the venture will next year study adding about 1 million cubic metres of storage facilities on reclaimed land.
Walter Moone, the terminal’s general manager, said in an interview that this would be on top of a plan to expand capacity to 2.1 million cubic meters by 2012.
“We’re currently working with the Fujairah municipality on a land reclamation project,” Moone said. Adding storage tanks on land reclaimed along the coast will depend on market conditions and the need for ship-mooring space, he said.
Companies are expanding storage at Fujairah, one of seven sheikdoms in the United Arab Emirates, on the expectation a new crude pipeline from Abu Dhabi and growing regional demand for refined products will boost traffic. Fujairah abuts the Arabian Sea, allowing tankers to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, the passage into the Persian Gulf between the UAE, Oman and Iran.
The Bloomberg report said Vopak Horizon Fujairah Ltd aims to increase capacity to 2.1 million cubic metres from 1.5 million cubic metres by adding tanks by the end of 2011 pending a final investment decision as early as this year. Vopak will also study whether to add more capacity after the land reclamation project.