THE WORLD OF OILTANKING VOL. 20/2 AUGUST 2008 connections Reaching for the Sky EDITORIAL ASIA Showing our true colors Big bunker bargain “Mirrors reflecting However, we have to be prepared for unexpected events that Oiltanking Odfjell Terminal Singapore (OOTS) and Matrix Marine Fuel Pte Ltd signed constantly changing might come out of the blue. Therefore, it is good to know that a long-term contract for the construction of fuel oil and gas oil tanks to provide patterns made of whatever we have to face, our company has many dedicated chemical parcel tankers calling at OOTS’s jetties with bunkers. bits of colored glass” employees with plenty of grey matter. — that is what you see when you look I am tickled pink to be able to convey some of our colorful When vessels in through a kaleidos- business to you in this new issue and hope you will like reading Singaporean waters need SIMULTANEITy Supplying bunkers to vessels calling at Oiltanking Odfjell cope*. When you hold a mirror up to our business, you will our red-hot news. fuel, they normally re-fuel Terminal Singapore is a welcome discover that it has a number of similarities to this device that when anchored, which is a addition to the company’s overall became one of the most popular optical toys of all time. Gust Spaepen very time-consuming service package. Managing Director Oiltanking GmbH procedure. The signed Just like the tiny fragments of glass in a kaleidoscope, our contract between Oiltanking daily business is continually shifting, transforming and being * Kaleidoscope: was already known to the Greeks. Its name is derived from Odfjell Terminal Singapore the Greek words kalos (beauty, eidos (form) and skopein (to look at). In volatile. And let us not forget the colors: in our dealings with 1816 it was re-invented by the Scot Sir David Brewster. (OOTS) and Matrix Marine “black gold”, we experience both bright and black days. Fuel, however, means that Sometimes we might see things through rose-colored • Black Gold = oil • To enjoy the rub of green = to have vessels calling at OOTS • Black Day = unlucky day good luck spectacles before discovering, for example, that red tape can • Red-hot news = latest news • To have plenty of grey matter = to jetties can be supplied with often halt the progress of a project for some time. We observe • Red tape = bureaucracy be intelligent fuel via a pipeline, • Blue chip = first class • To be tickled pink = to be delighted how enterprises turn out to be true blue chips or become • Out of the blue = suddenly • To see something through rose- concurrent with their cargo white elephants. • White elephant = a supposedly colored spectacles = to see operations. To facilitate this, valuable possession whose cost something better/brighter than it Luckily, up to now Oiltanking has enjoyed the rub of the green. exceeds its usefulness actually is three tanks have been custom built for the purpose of storing and supplying bunker fuels for Matrix Highlights in this issue Marine. The two 6,000 cbm fuel oil tanks and the 1,000 cbm gas oil tank will be ready on August 1, 2008, while the official commencement of services is scheduled for one month later. OOTS will receive both products by Port Authority of Singapore to conduct annual volume of 144,000 MT for fuel oil ship and, on behalf of Matrix, load the board to board operations for chemicals. and 12,000 MT for gas oil. GHENT GOAN HOUSES products onto the vessels. Besides saving time, this also carries New tank Color under various other advantages. The new In recognition of the favorable conditions 5 field party 8 one roof This is a first in Singapore and will further project will help alleviate the port’s mentioned Odfjell Shipping, one of the enhance OOTS’s role as an attractive and congestion and reduce the risk of oil largest chemical tanker owners and efficient “one-stop shop” for ships calling pollution compared to the current operators, has signed a long-term at the terminal. OOTS already provides a bunkering operation while anchored. contract with Matrix Marine to off-take range of simultaneous services to vessels bunkers at OOTS whenever any of its aimed at reducing the vessels’ time in Matrix Marine supplies fuel oil to ocean- vessels call there and require fuel. The port, such as supplying fresh water, ship going vessels around the world. It already initial positive response from certain EUROPE CULTURAL tank preparation via nitrogen purging, has a similar established position in vessel owners, operators and customers Financial EXPERIENCE bunker by barge, and transshipment Houston, Texas, with Oiltanking Houston. is already illustrative enough of the win managers From Hamburg (both board to board and via ship-shore- The signed contract gives Matrix Marine win-situation for all parties involved. meeting 12 to Sohar 14 ship lines). By the way, OOTS is also the a much sought-after entry into the local only location approved by the Maritime & bunker supply market. Matrix targets an 2 CONNECTIONS CONNECTIONS 3 SOUTH AMERICA NEWS Successful pipeline S outh A merica commissioning in Argentina Honey sweetens business in Argentina Oiltanking completed construction management What has honey got to do with as a means of Oiltanking? You could say that Oiltankers payment rather contract for Petroandina Resources are as busy as bees … but actually the than money. He fact of the matter is that Oiltankers at offered two kilos the Ebytem terminal in Brandsen, per beehive, Argentina, had honey delivered to which meant sweet news for the them. How did this come about? Only terminal: a delivery of 80 kilos of about nine hectares of the land that honey per year! However, at first the was bought to build the terminal beekeeper had to see if the bees Oiltanking Ebytem S.A. are used. The produce honey on that piece of land. rest, approximately 77 hectares, is Sometimes bees reject places! Luckily, rented out to a person who keeps cows the bees accepted their new apiary for grazing. Last year, Oiltanking and recently Oiltankers welcomed the Ebytem was approached by a beekeeper, delivery of the first batch of smooth who asked if he could use a small part and perfect honey. Now we know what of the land for his business. After all the buzz is about! What on earth analyzing all possible issues and are they going to do with so much In 2007, Oiltanking founded a new company in Argentina, in contract negotiations and provided advice to OTLA’s team. exploring every possible scenario honey? It goes without saying that Oiltanking Logística Argentina (OTLA), with the purpose of Seeing that time is of the essence in most projects, work was associated with having beehives fairly not only will they delight in it for their developing storage, marine, and transport facilities to serve the conducted seven days a week during all the start-up and close to the terminal, Oiltanking Ebytem very own consumption but the honey fuel, chemical, petrochemical, and other bulk liquids markets, and construction phases, thus posing great demands on the project had no objections and gave the green will also be put to good use as to offer management and logistic services to third parties. team members. light. In return for the use of the land to corporate presents. What a sweet In May of that very same year, OTLA won an engineering, It is worth noting that the project was completed without lost keep bees, the apiarist suggested honey idea to smack your lips over! procurement and construction management contract from time accidents for both of the parties involved during the Petroandina Resources (PAR) for a new head pump station construction, thanks to the efficient and safe working and crude oil pipeline that required building between the conditions implemented by the different companies. EUROPE Mendoza and Neuquén provinces. Moreover, the stakeholders had to overcome a very challenging PAR, a Canadian company, is the operator of a joint venture hurdle, namely the crossing of the Río Colorado river. Initially Steady growth at Oiltanking Ghent agreement between PAR and Repsol YPF for an oil field located the project called for a directional drilling crossing, however in the southern part of the province of Mendoza. Production further detailed studies proved that it was technically On 3 July 2008, Oiltanking Ghent N.V. had no there has been steadily on the increase and currently accounts impossible to implement this solution due to the non-favorable shortage of good reasons to make a public for 4,000 cubic meters of oil per day. characteristics of the river bed. Therefore, the crossing was announcement. In a joint initiative by Oiltanking The 81 km long, 12 inch diameter pipeline links the oil field in carried out by utilizing an existing pipe bridge owned by Repsol Ghent and the Port of Ghent the national and local Mendoza with the receiving station in the province of Neuquén, YPF, which had to be repaired and upgraded to allow for the press were informed about the opening of a new which is a Repsol YPF facility and head of another pipeline that additional pipeline. tank field with four tanks each containing 18,750 feeds the Lujan de Cuyo refinery. The crude oil can also be The first crude oil was successfully delivered in Neuquén on cbm. At the same time, the starting signal was transferred to Oldelval’s head pump station where the ultimate July 16, 2008. Needless to say the project team was very given for the construction of four additional tanks destination is the Puerto Rosales Terminal, on the Atlantic coast, enthusiastic about this event after having put in a good solid with a capacity of respectively 55,000 cbm.