Thu 13 May 2010, 07:39 GMT

Aegean to acquire Shell Las Palmas terminal


Acquisition of bunker and lubricants facility is expected to be completed by the end of July.



Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. has announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire from Shell España S.A. the assets and operations of the Shell Las Palmas terminal in the Canary Islands. The acquisition, which is subject to the completion of detailed documentation, is expected to close by the end of July.

The Shell Las Palmas terminal occupies an area of approximately 20,000 square meters, providing bunkering services for a diverse group of ship operators primarily along major trans-Atlantic seaborne trade routes.

The terminal includes a lubricants plant, dedicated in-land storage facilities totalling approximately 65,000 cubic meters in capacity as well as on-site blending facilities to sell all grades of fuel oils and distillates.

Las Palmas generates total annual marine fuel sales volumes in excess of approximately 2.0 million metric tons, of which Shell España had an approximate market share of 18 percent, and a 25 percemt market share of the 380-centistoke (cst) fuel oil market.

Consistent with Aegean Marine's plan to conduct physical supply operations in the Canary Islands and provide comprehensive marine fuel services to vessels both in port and at sea, the company says it intends to initially deploy two double-hull bunkering tankers to the Shell Las Palmas terminal.

Following the sale of the terminal, Aegean stated that Shell España will exit the Las Palmas marine fuel business and that all employees of the terminal will be retained by Aegean.

Commenting on the news, E. Nikolas Tavlarios, President of Aegean Marine, said: "With our agreement to acquire the Shell Las Palmas terminal, Aegean Marine continues to actively consolidate the fragmented marine fuel industry in a disciplined manner that meets a strict set of return criteria.

"Building on the successful acquisition of Verbeke Bunkering, our latest accretive acquisition further expands the company's vast global network and provides strong growth potential. By capitalizing on our modern delivery fleet and leading brand recognition, we expect to drive future sales volumes throughout the Canary Islands, which serve as a critical bunkering port for all major shipping sectors. We also plan to take advantage of the increasing demand for low sulphur fuel in this sizeable market and utilize the port's considerable storage facilities to procure large quantities of supply to be on hand in order to serve our customers.

"Including Las Palmas, Aegean Marine will have expanded the number of its service center locations to 16, which serve a total of more than 40 markets worldwide, compared to five markets at the time of our IPO in December 2006."

Spyros Gianniotis, Chief Financial Officer of Aegean Marine, stated: "The ongoing execution of management's growth strategy bodes well for Aegean Marine to continue to expand its market share for the global supply of marine fuel and increase sales volumes. In further enhancing our growth prospects, we plan to leverage our large and diverse customer base upon entering new strategic markets as we have consistently done in the past.

"We intend to draw upon our significant financial liquidity, including available cash, to finance the acquisition of the Shell Las Palmas terminal and commence operations in the Canary Islands beginning in the third quarter of 2010. As we continue to take advantage of attractive growth opportunities that strengthen our position as the premier independent supplier of marine fuel, we expect to enhance our long-term earnings potential and drive shareholder value."


Core Power, Athlos Energy, Deon Policy Institute and ABS logos. Greece floating nuclear study finds no fundamental barriers to implementation  

A PESTLE assessment of floating nuclear power plants in Greece identifies framework gaps, not feasibility barriers.

Northern Pathliner alongside Bergen LNG vessel. Molgas completes LNG cool-down and bunkering for Northern Pathliner at Northern Lights terminal in Norway  

Operation carried out at Øygarden facility, with K Line and Integr8 Fuels in the supply chain.

Rendering of a G2 Ocean OHGC vessel. G2 Ocean expands fleet with six future-fuel ready gantry crane vessels  

Open hatch specialist adds vessels and jet sail technology as part of a broad fleet renewal programme.

CMA CGM Adventure vessel at Port of Mombasa. LNG-powered CMA CGM Adventure makes first call at the Port of Mombasa  

Kenya Ports Authority receives its first large LNG-fuelled container vessel.

Liam Blackmore, Lloyd's Register. Maritime trio shapes IMO safety guidelines for ammonia as marine fuel  

Real-world operational experience feeds directly into new IMO ammonia fuel safety framework.

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.