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London-headquartered bunker supplier and trader Peninsula Petroleum Ltd. is due to launch a new office in Tokyo next month.

The Tokyo office is set to become Peninsula's third in Far East Asia and eleventh worldwide, with the company following in the footsteps of other foreign bunker companies World Fuel Services, OceanConnect and International Bunker Services K.K. to have launched operations in the Japanese market.

Peninsula is a member of the Gibunco Group, which offers marine-related services such as fuel conservation, ship repair & maintenance, ship agency and ship ownership.

Peninsula was registered in 1996 as the commercial arm of the Gibunco Group, with the aim of managing and expanding the physical supply of marine fuels and lubricants in the port of Gibraltar.

The company commenced supply operations in Ceuta and Las Palmas in 1999 and became a physical supplier in Panama in 2002.

In addition to physical supply operations, Peninsula began worldwide trading in 2001 and has since launched offices in Athens (2005), Singapore (2006), Dubai (2007), Shanghai (2007), Geneva (2008), Montevideo (2009) and Tønsberg (2010). The company also has offices in Gibraltar and Dublin.

Between 2005 and 2009 the company's trading team has grown from 10 to over 40 traders worldwide.

Peninsula is currently estimated to have annual bunker sales of over 5 million tonnes. The figure is projected to reach 6 million tonnnes in 2010.

It is understood that Peninsula is also looking to increase its profile in the North American market with the launch of an office in New York.