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."


Arctic Tern vessel. Wallenius Wilhelmsen takes delivery of first methanol-ready Shaper Class vessel  

The dual-fuel Arctic Tern will enter service on the Asia–Europe trade almost immediately.

Al Muraykh vessel. Hapag-Lloyd signs shore power agreement with Hamburg Port Authority  

Deal commits the carrier to using onshore power supply at all Hamburg terminals.

Dorthe Karin Bendtsen, KPI OceanConnect. KPI OceanConnect reports 21% rise in pre-tax earnings for 2025/26  

Marine fuel firm delivers 13 million tonnes and expands carbon markets capabilities amid geopolitical turbulence.

VTTI logo. VTTI Dalian completes first large-scale 'green methanol' vessel loading  

Cargo to be supplied as marine fuel in Shanghai.

Steff Tan, Oilmar. Oilmar appoints Steff Tan as marine fuels trader in Singapore  

New hire's background spans bunker operations, logistics, commercial trading, marketing, and business development.

Feng Da Hai vessel. Cosco Shipping adds methanol-ready bulk carrier Feng Da Hai to fleet  

The 64,000-tonne vessel is equipped with a methanol fuel system for future low-carbon operations.

Oilmar office in Dubai. Oilmar welcomes summer intern to Dubai branch  

Arpit Aryan will rotate across the bunker fuel trading, finance and operations departments.

Aerial view of the Dubai skyline. Oilmar takes on trading and finance intern in Dubai  

New intern to rotate across trading, operations and finance teams.

Seaspan and Maersk signing. Seaspan and Maersk deepen fleet efficiency collaboration with $75m upgrade programme  

Retrofit package for four 13,000-teu vessels includes installation of shaft generator to reduce auxiliary engine fuel consumption.

European Parliament building in Brussels. EU Parliament vote on soy biofuels could expose bloc to $5.6bn a year in trade sanctions  

MEPs reject regulation that would have phased out soy biofuels, risking WTO retaliation penalties.