Fujairah-based Gulf Petrochem will float a tender for its USD 250 million- USD 300 million bitumen refinery at Fujairah Free Zone in the next couple of months, a top official from the company told Zawya in an exclusive interview.
"We will tender for both the off sides and the refinery by March or April. We will shortlist the bidding companies before this year-end. If it is feasible, we will start construction works by the end-2014," said Captain Paul Nix, general manager - terminal operations, Gulf Petrochem.
The project is expected to be complete by end-2016. "As we grow, we are looking for new capacity and have already signed a contract to lease a plot of land at Fujairah Free Zone for the new facility. The feasibility study will end soon," he explained.
He said the project will have a capacity of one million tons of bitumen per year. It takes two million tons of crude oil to manufacture one million ton of bitumen.
The final product, according to Capt. Nix, will be sold locally, in other GCC countries, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and other Asian countries.
With the new capacity putting pressure on its transportation, the company is also planning to increase the number of ships.
"The new bitumen capacity will require additional ships, tanks and storage. Currently we have eight ships, ranging from 1,000 to 6,000 dead weight (DWT) bitumen carriers to 40,000 DWT petroleum tankers," he said. "We are planning either to build two additional dedicated bitumen carriers or charter ships," he revealed.
Last year, Gulf Petrochem commissioned phase one of its port storage terminal facility at Fujairah, with a capacity of 412,000 cubic meters, while the master plan for the Fujairah development envisages an even greater ultimate capacity of 1.2 million cubic meters. In February 2014, the company will inaugurate the phase two of its port storage facility at Fujairah Free Zone.
Established 15 years ago, Gulf Petrochem is a leading player and a well-integrated conglomerate in oil space, specializing in oil trading and bunkering, oil refining, grease manufacturing, oil storage terminals, bitumen manufacturing and shipping and logistics.
Headquartered in the UAE, the company also has presence in South Asia, Far East Asia, Africa and Europe.
© Zawya 2014
