Fri 27 Jun 2008, 12:02 GMT

Titan to focus on bunkering activities


Supply chain business is to be centred on bunkering operations in key Asian markets.



Titan Petrochemical Group Limited has announced that the main focus of the Titan Group’s supply chain business is to be centered on its bunkering businesses in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Mainland China.

The Hong Kong-listed company revealed this week that the business of Titan Group is to be restructured to focus more on its storage and shipyard operations, and scale down its supply chain activities.

The company is substantially reducing its trading business, which is capital intensive and exposed to risks associated with market volatility and will consider suitable opportunities to sell the business to third parties. After the restructuring, the main objective of the supply chain business will be to focus on bunkering activities in key locations in Asia.

As part of this exercise, Titan plans to reduce headcount in Singapore and Hong Kong by 56 from 205 to 149. The restructuring and the corresponding cost-reducing measures (one time costs of which are estimated at around US$1 million to US$1.5 million) are expected to result in annual cost savings of US$2.8-3.3 million.

Furthermore, if the planned scale down of the trading business were implemented by June 30th 2008 and assuming successful disposal of the business by 31 December 2008, the Group expects to improve its balance sheet considerably, with the elimination of about US$140 million trading-related debt and banking facilities and improvement to cash flow by about US$50 million as a result.

Titan says it will continue to invest in its shipyard and storage businesses. Titan Quanzhou Shipyard, which is wholly-owned by Titan, is expected to deliver 10 new built vessels this financial year. The construction of its ship repair yard (which is designed to have ship repair capacity of 240 ships per year after completion) is progressing rapidly.

Titan expects that the onshore storage facilities in which it has invested, will have combined up to 1.2 million cubic meters of oil and chemical storage capacity in China by the end of 2008. This is to include 180,000 cubic meters of fuel oil storage and 125,300 cubic meters of chemical storage amounting to a total 305,300 cubic meters of new capacity at Nansha Terminal Phase II due for completion this year, and 420,000 cubic meters of fuel oil storage capacity at Yangshan Terminal Phase I planned to be ready for operations by the third quarter this year.

Nansha Terminal Phase I has been designated by the Shanghai Futures Exchange in March 2008 as a physical delivery storage facility for the settlement of its fuel oil contracts. Titan has also been in active support of efforts to establish the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (“HKMEx”) and, in addition to its interest in being an investor in HKMEx, it also proposes to provide delivery support of fuel oil contracts through its bonded storage facilities in Mainland China.



Repsol industrial complex in Puertollano. Repsol starts large-scale renewable fuel production at second Iberian plant  

Spanish energy company's Puertollano facility adds 200,000 tonnes per year of renewable diesel capacity.

SD Aisemaht vessel. World's first dual-fuel methanol escort tug receives full class certification  

ABS grants certification to SD Aisemaht, built by Sanmar Shipyards for Canada's Trans Mountain Expansion Project.

CMB.Tech and TFG Marine signing. CMB.Tech raises TFG Marine stake to 15% and consolidates bunker procurement through joint venture  

CMB.Tech increases its equity stake in TFG Marine and commits its entire fleet’s bunker requirements to the joint venture.

XFuel demo plant in Mallorca, Spain. XFuel secures EUR 4.1m Catalonia grant for waste-derived marine fuel plant  

Spanish start-up wins funding to build a modular facility converting waste oils into low-carbon marine gas oil.

Liquefied biogas facility at Port of Gothenburg render. Construction begins on liquefied biogas facility at Port of Gothenburg  

Nordion Energi's new plant aims to open up Swedish biogas supply to shipping and other sectors beyond the gas grid.

Sun Princess ship-to-ship (STS) LNG bunkering operation. Axpo completes first LNG bunkering of cruise ship at port of Naples  

Sun Princess bunkered at Naples, marking the first LNG operation on a cruise vessel at the Italian port.

Ship-to-ship (STS) HVO supply at Keihin Port. Kamei Corporation begins Japan’s first ship-to-ship HVO supply at Keihin Port  

Japanese energy company launches HVO bunkering operation using drop-in biodiesel fuel brand Susteo.

Uni-Fuels Logo. Uni-Fuels posts $376k net loss in Q1 2026 despite 64% revenue jump  

Singapore-based bunker firm attributes loss to communication expenses incurred during the period.

Participants of SSA training course. SSA launches green fuels training course ahead of low-carbon transition  

The Singapore Shipping Association has introduced a course covering alternative marine fuels and emissions frameworks.

The Nautical Institute (NI) logo. The Nautical Institute launches bunkering and engineering assessors course  

New programme targets behavioural competency and human factors in high-risk shipboard operations.