Thu 13 May 2010 07:39

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."


Marius Kairys, CEO of Elenger Sp. z o.o. Elenger enters Polish LNG bunkering market with ferry refuelling operation  

Baltic energy firm completes maiden truck-to-ship LNG delivery in Gdansk.

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) virtual reality (VR) training program developed in collaboration with Evergreen. SHI develops VR training solutions for Evergreen's methanol-fuelled ships  

Shipbuilder creates virtual reality program for 16,500 TEU boxship operations.

Illustratic image of Itochu's newbuild ammonia bunkering vessel, scheduled for delivery in September 2027. Itochu orders 5,000 cbm ammonia bunker vessel  

Japanese firm targets Singapore demonstration after October 2027, with Zeta Bunkering lined up to perform deliveries.

Bunkering of the Glovis Selene car carrier. Shell completes first LNG bunkering operation with Hyundai Glovis in Singapore  

Energy major supplies fuel to South Korean logistics firm's dual-fuel vessel.

Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) vessel. CPN delivers first B30 marine gasoil to OOCL in Hong Kong  

Chimbusco Pan Nation claims to be first in region to supply all grades of ISCC-EU certified marine biofuel.

The Buffalo 404 barge, owned by Buffalo Marine Service Inc., performing a bunker delivery. TFG Marine installs first ISO-certified mass flow meter on US Gulf bunker barge  

Installation marks expansion of company's digitalisation programme across global fleet.

Sogestran's fuel supply vessel, the Anatife, at the port of Belle-Île-en-Mer. Sogestran's HVO-powered tanker achieves 78% CO2 reduction on French island fuel runs  

Small tanker Anatife saves fuel while supplying Belle-Île and Île d'Yeu.

Crowley 1,400 TEU LNG-powered containership, Tiscapa. Crowley deploys LNG-powered boxship Tiscapa for Caribbean and Central American routes  

Vessel is the third in company's Avance Class fleet to enter service.

The inland LNG bunker vessel LNG London. LNG London completes 1,000 bunkering operations in Rotterdam and Antwerp  

Delivery vessel reaches milestone after five years of operations across ARA hub.

The M.V. COSCO Shipping Yangpu, China's first methanol dual-fuel containership. COSCO vessel completes maiden green methanol bunkering at Yangpu  

China's first methanol dual-fuel containership refuels with green methanol derived from urban waste.


↑  Back to Top


 Recommended