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Brightoil Petroleum (Holdings) Limited, one of the largest service providers of marine bunkering in China, has announced that the group has taken delivery of two ocean-going oil tankers purchased in August 2010 for US$57.5million each.

Each of the double-hulled Aframax oil tankers, with a capacity of 115,000 DWT, has an overall length of 250 meters, breath of 44 meters and moulded depth of 21.35 meters.

Built by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction in Korea in January and March 2009, each tanker is coupled with 3 sets of cargo pumps, each of which has a discharge rate up to 3,000 m3/hr.

Both vessels were built to Common Structural Rules (CSR), the latest standard for newly-built tankers, featuring increased strength and durability of hull structure requirements.

Brightoil said the oil tankers will mainly be used for transporting fuel oil or crude oil internationally.

From November 2009 to August 2010, the group purchased 9 ocean-going oil tankers with sizes ranging from 107,500 DWT to 318,000 DWT for the purpose of supporting its marine bunkering and petroleum products trading businesses.

Brightoil says it intends to streamline the procurement process for its core marine bunkering business worldwide in order to maximize economies of scale. Also, the group plans to charter out any spare capacity of the oil tankers in order to generate additional revenue.

Commenting on the new acquisitions, Dr. Sit Kwong Lam, Chairman and CEO of the Group, said, “With two 115,000 DWT ocean-going oil tankers in place, it will further enhance the oil transportation capability of Brightoil. It also represents a step forward to building our high quality marine transportation business.

This, along with the oil storage facilities and terminal projects in Dalian and Zhoushan, as well as the Tuzi gas exploration and production project, shows that we have progressively started the four businesses we have previously envisioned. The Group strives to become one of the leading global energy conglomerates in the world.”