By Yaw Yan Chong and Neil Chatterjee
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian oil trader Bakri will more than double its Middle East storage capacity and is looking for tank space in Singapore as it seeks to profit from growing shipping demand and limited new fuel oil supplies.
The independent firm, which trades and supplies mainly fuel oil, will lift its storage from 300,000 cubic meters in Fujairah, along with a host of similar projects in the United Arab Emirates port, said Rifaat El Gohary, managing director of Bakri Trading Co. (Asia).
It is also expanding its fleet of 70 marine units, with 12 new bunker barges expected by end-2008, he said in an interview on Wednesday as part of the Reuters Energy Summit.
"For small-to-medium trading companies like us, it's about what we can bring to the table. The only way to enhance our presence is to get involved with oil-related infrastructure," he added.
Other major players in the Middle East such as FAL Oil and new entrant Chemoil (CHEL.SI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are building storage terminals, mainly for fuel oil to tap growth in Fujairah, the world's second-largest bunkering port with reported 2006 volume of 11-12 million tonnes.
Bakri, started as a family-owned bunker-supply firm in 1973, is looking to lease similar facilities in Singapore, where 30-35 percent of its 2006 global volume of 9 million tonnes traded. In contrast, the world's third-largest independent trader, Trafigura, handles 95.5 million tonnes annually (1.7 million barrels per day).
The firm is involved in two oil storage terminal projects with total capacity of up to 950,000 cu m in the Middle East. The first, with total capacity of 550,000 cu m in two phases, is being built on its land in the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
Phase 1, which is wholly owned, will see the construction of a 150,000 cu m fuel oil storage facility by August-September. Phase 2, which is still under negotiations with a partner, is a 400,000 cu m terminal for gasoline blending and would be completed a year after a Letter of Intent is signed. Continued...
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