EPCA ’07: Vopak to expand Zhangjiagang terminal

02 October 2007 23:31  [Source: ICIS news]

BERLIN (ICIS news)--Vopak, the world’s largest oil and chemicals storage provider, plans to expand its Zhangjiagang terminal in China while evaluating other expansions and new-builds in other parts of the country, an official with the Dutch company said on Tuesday.

Vopak's 125,000cbm (4.4m cft) Zhangjiagang terminal, which has just started operations this July, will be expanded by 75,000cbm by early 2009, Vopak chairman John Paul Broeders said in an interview on the sidelines of the European Petrochemical Conference (EPCA).

The terminal serves Shanghai and Wuxi, the location of several car and electronics factories.

In Lingang, Tianjin, China, Vopak struggled to find a plot of land on which it could build an 800,000cbm facility, Broeders said.

He added that Vopak was evaluating an expansion at its terminals in Lanshan, Shandong province and Ningbo, Zhejiang province.

“We do believe that Ningbo is a good port to keep on working,” he said.

The company is also looking at whether it could play a role in southern and northern China - where it does not have any facilities - and at a new Chongqing chemical park.

“With the Yangtze River, the city could be a very good supply point for western China,” Broeders said.

Vopak, which already has several chemical storage facilities in China, was also eyeing a piece of the petroleum market as the country gradually opens up its market, he said, adding that more western suppliers could seek to work with the Dutch major.
By: Florence Tan
+65 6780 4359

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