TANK TERMINAL UPDATE

OKEA

Products: Oil

Cost: $220 million (€200.36 million)

Capacity: 40,000 boed

Construction/expansion/acquisition: Norwegian independent oil and gas producer Okea has agreed to buy a 28% stake in Norway’s Statfjord production licence from Equinor. The deal increases Okea’s total production by between 13,000 and 15,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) in 2023 and by between 16,000 and 20,000 boed in 2024.

Comment: Okea says: ‘In addition, the agreement contains contingent payment terms applicable for 2023-25 for certain thresholds of realised oil and gas prices.’

Saudi Armaco

Products: Oil, ethylene and paraxylene

Cost: $12.2 billion (€11.3 million)

Capacity: 300,000 (bpd)

Construction/expansion/acquisition: Saudi Aramco has signed an agreement with Chinese partners for an oil refinery and petrochemical project in northeast China expected to start in 2026 to meet the country’s growing demand for fuel and chemicals.

Comment: Construction at the complex will start in the second quarter after the project secures the required administrative approvals. The plant is expected to be fully operational by 2026.

Exxonmobil

Products: Petrochemical

Capacity: 630,000 bpd

Construction/expansion/acquisition: ExxonMobil has announced the successful startup of its Beaumont refinery, USA, expansion project, which adds 250,000 barrels per day of capacity to one of the largest refining and petrochemical complexes along the USA. Gulf Coast.

Comment: Karen McKee, president of ExxonMobil product solutions says: ‘ExxonMobil maintained its commitment to the Beaumont expansion even through the lows of the pandemic, knowing consumer demand would return and new capacity would be critical in the post-pandemic economic recovery.’

SEMPRA

Products: Liquefied natural gas (LNG)

Cost: $13 billion (€12.5 billion)

Construction/expansion/acquisition: US power and gas utility Sempra Energy has announced that the first phase of its proposed Port Arthur liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal will move ahead with investment firm KKR & Co agreeing to a minority stake in the project. Sempra Infrastructure Partners, the 70%-owned unit of Sempra, would target 20% to 30% of indirect ownership interest in the project, subject to the closing of the KKR sale.

Comment: Sempra estimates the total capital expenditure for the 13.5-million tonnes per annum (MTPA) plant’s Phase 1 at $13 billion (€12.5 billion).

Bp And Adnoc

Products: Offshore natural gas

Cost: $2 billion (€1.8 billion)

Construction/expansion/acquisition: BP and Abu Dhabi’s state oil giant have made an offer to acquire 50% of Israeli offshore natural gas producer NewMed Energy for around $2 billion (€1.8 billion).

Comment: The offer involves acquiring NewMed’s free-floating shares and taking the company private and would mark Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and BP’s entry into Israel’s growing energy sector.

Onyx Power

Products: Hydrogen

Capacity: 1,200 MW

Construction/expansion/acquisition: Electric utility company, Onyx Power plans to make a significant contribution to emission reduction in the Netherlands by building a hydrogen production plant at its existing site in the Port of Rotterdam.

Comment: With a capacity of 1,200 MW the plant could produce some 300 kiloton per annum blue hydrogen, to aid in decarbonising the industry and meet national targets.

Harbour Energy And Bp

Products: Carbon capture and storage

Capacity: 30 million tonnes of per year it has signed a sales and purchase agreement with anode producer, Aluchemie. The new site in Rotterdam provides Advario with the opportunity to develop, build, innovate and operate the storage infrastructure its customers and partners need to successfully transition to cleaner energy.

Construction/expansion/acquisition: Independent oil and gas company, Harbour Energy and energy giant, BP have announced that they have entered into an agreement to develop the Viking CCS transportation and storage project, the Humber, UK. Under the terms of the agreement, Harbour will continue as operator of Viking CCS with a 60 per cent interest and Bp will acquire a 40 per cent non-operated share.

Comment: The announcement follows the UK Government’s recent decision to launch Track 2 of its CCS cluster sequencing process.

Comment: The target date for completion is 31 December 2025, after which Advario can start construction.

Total Energies

Products: Oil, gas and renewables

Cost: $27 billion (€24.6 billion)

Linde And Heidelberg Materials

Products: Carbon capture and storage

Capacity: 70,000 tons (63,500 tonnes)

Construction/expansion/acquisition: Industrial gases and engineering company, Linde has announced it has signed an agreement with building materials company, Heidelberg Materials to jointly build, own and operate a largescale carbon capture and liquefaction facility. Through the use of carbon capture, Linde and Heidelberg Materials will aim to reduce carbon emissions at Heidelberg’s Lengfurt plant in Germany.

Comment: ‘Our innovative project with Heidelberg Materials is one of the first large-scale plants of its kind for the cement industry,’ says Sean Durbin, executive vice president EMEA at Linde.

Evos

Products: Green hydrogen and hydrogen fuels

Construction/expansion/acquisition: Evos Hamburg, the Lother Group and E-Fuel GmbH have announced that they will be cooperating with the intention of establishing the Hamburg Blue Hub. This is a core initiative within a chain of other projects to get ready for the import of green hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels in Hamburg. The aim is to establish Hamburg as key distribution centre for green fuels in Europe.

Comment: Managing director of Evos Group, Harry Deans, says: ‘Evos is determined to put our extensive experience to great use and ensure that we handle future fuels with the same care and expertise.’

Construction/expansion/acquisition: French oil major TotalEnergies has confirmed it has reached an agreement with the Iraqi government on a longdelayed $27 billion (€24.6 billion) energy project, reviving a deal that aims to bring back foreign investment into the country.

Comment: The deal was signed in 2021 for TotalEnergies to build four oil, gas, and renewables projects with an initial investment of $10 billion (€9.1 billion) in southern Iraq over 25 years.

Ineos Phenol

Products: Chemicals

Cost: $330 million (€302 million)

Capacity: 1 million tonnes of product each year

Construction/expansion/acquisition: Producer of phenol and acetone, INEOS Phenol has announced the acquisition of the Japanese chemicals manufacturer, Mitsui Phenols Singapore from Mitsui Chemicals is complete.

Advario

Products: Energy products

Construction/expansion/acquisition: Liquid energy storage and logistics provider, Advario B.V, has announced

Comment: Gordon Adams, business director of INEOS Phenol says: ‘Entering the Asian market via this acquisition gives INEOS Phenol a unique capability to support our global customers’ plans for future growth.’