Mawani, Trafalgar in deal to build $532mln bunker station at Yanbu

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The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has signed a deal with Alba Nova International and Trafalgar Company to set up an integrated bunker station at King Fahad Industrial Port in partnership with the Ministry of Energy.

With an eye on taking the nation’s tally of world-class logistics centers to 30, the proposed SR2 billion ($532 million) development is key to Mawani’s ambition to position Saudi Arabia as a logistics hub of choice at the crossroads of three major continents in line with the ambitions of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS).

The facility is similarly crucial in fulfilling the objectives of the Ministry of Energy to raise the kingdom’s share in the regional bunkering market to 10 million tons through increased partnerships with major oil storage companies, said Mawani in a statement.

The operator of the 393,000 sq. m. refueling hub intends to build oil tanks to store, trade, and blend petroleum products over two stages, with each phase seeing new 1.2 million metric-ton-capacity facilities taking shape over 196,000 sq m, it added.

The strategic agreement was signed by Abdullah AlMunif, the Mawani Vice President for Commercial Business, and Engineer Khalid Al Qahtani, CEO at Trafalgar Company.

The overall holding capacity for the pioneering project is expected to hit 2.5 million metric tonnes on completion.

A total of 144 storage units, ranging from diesel tanks, benzene tanks, and heavy fuel oil tanks among others, will be erected at each stage.

Capable of holding 8,650 metric tons apiece, these state-of-the-art facilities are designed to serve the national petroleum industry and cater to local and global market requirements in an efficient and high-quality manner, said the statement.

Based in Yanbu, King Fahad Industrial Port is the Kingdom’s - and the Red Sea’s - largest trade hub for crude oil, refined petroleum, and petrochemicals.

With a throughput capacity of 500,000 tons and an infrastructure spanning 34 berths and ten terminals, the port is strategically located to serve the East-West global trade routes, it added.