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China's largest oil refiner, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) is planning to store fuel at the port of Fujairah, according to a UAE government official.

Salem Kelil, technical adviser to the emirate's government, is reported to have said at a conference in Dubai yesterday that Sinopec will take up to around 50 percent of the 412,000 cubic metres (cbm) of tank storage that Singapore-based Concorde Energy plans to build in Fujairah. The construction project is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2014.

Kelil said that Fujairah's capacity for storing crude oil and refined petroleum products is due to rise by 6.5 million barrels, or 95.6 percent, from 6.8 million cbm at the end of this year to 13.3 million cbm in 2015.

Royal Vopak and Vitol Group could add up to one million cbm of crude storage capacity each at sites in Fujairah where they are partners, Kelil said.

LNG terminal

Mubadala Development Co. and International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC), both funds run by the government of Abu Dhabi, are planning to build a terminal for importing liquefied natural gas at Fujairah, in order to avoid the need for vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

The joint venture project — Emirates LNG - is to develop a floating offshore LNG terminal which would receive its first imports in 2014.

In a joint statement, both Abu Dhabi companies said the project was aimed at securing additional gas supplies to meet energy demand from the UAE’s growing economy.

"As the Emirates LNG project develops, it is envisaged that a specific project company will be formed by Mubadala and IPIC. The Emirates LNG project will develop a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification facility in Fujairah," the statement said.

The proposed LNG terminal would be built in two phases. The first phase will include a floating storage and regasification terminal and will be completed in the second quarter of 2014. An onshore import terminal will be built a year later.