Feb 12 2005   EMIRATES OIL COMPANY MAY EXPAND STORAGE CAPACITY IN SINGAPORE Horizon Terminals says it could expand its oil storage capacity in Singapore. The Dubai-based firm, wholly-owned by Emirates National Oil Corp. (ENOC), could build an extra 120,000 cm of capacity at its proposed oil storage terminal on Jurong Island, costing S$ 326 mm. That will take its total capacity to about 1 mm cm or 6.3 mm barrels of oil. Meanwhile, ENOC announced that it had joined forces with four other companies to form Horizon Singapore Terminals. It also confirmed that South Korea's SK Corp. is taking a 15 % stake in the venture. Jurong Island is where Horizon's proposed bulk-liquids terminal will be built. Construction of the S$ 326 mm facility is scheduled to start in the first half of this year, and be operational by July 2006. Horizon Terminals -- the main driver -- will own a majority 52 % stake in the Singapore joint venture. Its other partners are Kuwait's Independent Petroleum Group, Boreh International, Martank of The Netherlands, and SK Energy Asia, a unit of SK Corp. The terminal will have 30 storage tanks, which can hold nearly 1 mm cm of petroleum or petrochemical products. Lim Swee Say, Minister in Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for National Development, said, "The entry of an experienced terminal operator like Horizon will further strengthen our value proposition to members of the oil industry. It will enhance Singapore's standing as a premier regional logistics hub for petroleum and petrochemical products." Hussain Sultan, Group CEO and Board Member, Emirates National Oil Company, said, "I think this is a major petroleum hub with plants here and with everyone here we need to start somewhere. This is a good start for us and we could not be a global player without having a presence in Singapore." Horizon Singapore Terminals has also awarded contracts to build the facility, starting with a major deal to construct the storage tanks. Hussain Sultan said, "Punjlloyd were the successfully tenderer in the case of the tank farm. We will be deciding over the next few days with regard to the other 3 contracts, which is the jetties, the mechanical and electrical instrumentation and civil works." China Aviation Oil (CAO) is said to have withdrawn from the project, after recently announcing its massive losses from trading oil derivatives. But ENOC says CAO missed the deadline to invest in the project. Hussain Sultan said, "China Aviation have not... been a shareholder in the project. You can only be a shareholder if you start paying, and saying yes when the real crunch comes, I am going to be a shareholder and like everyone else, when we call for the first chunk of the equity, everyone pays." ENOC says even with CAO out of the picture, its plan to go into China remains on track. In fact, it is now looking to set up similar facilities in India and China. » Back © Copyright 2006, HORIZON TERMINALS