16 BULKDISTRIBUTOR Ports & Storage
May/June 2020
CLH moves into biofuel storage
Spain’s CLH Group has adjusted its infrastructure so biofuels
can enter the logistics cycle.
With the current energy transition process, it said biofuels are one
of the main choices as far as mobility “as they offer greater energy
security and less greenhouse gas emissions in addition to fostering
innovation and development”.
Applying a more specific approach and focusing on alternatives for
gas oil, compounds deriving from plant oils and animal fats known
as FAME (fatty acid methyl esters), commonly known as biodiesel,
stand out, CLH said. When added to gas oil, whenever the quality
standards are met, it does not substantially modify it and allows
vehicle engines to work identically without incident.
To guarantee adequate use, biodiesel must comply with quality
requirements established in Europe by the European Committee for
Standardization which is formed by 34 national standards bodies.
Blanca Martínez, quality co-ordinator at CLH, said: “If a product
does not comply with each of the quality requirements demanded, it
cannot be used as a fuel. In fact, it can’t even be classified as a gas
oil or biodiesel.”
The Spanish company said CLH has been a pioneer in
implementing biofuels in Spain. In the early 1990s, when there were
no production projects in Spain, it said it began doing studies on its
behaviour and possible uses.
Cristina Pérez, head of customer service development, said: “We
currently offer biofuel storage and distribution services to all
autonomous regions and have specifically adapted facilities to do so.
We not only manage biodiesel but also bioethanol which has led us
to managing more than 2 million cbm of these fuels in 2019.”
To achieve this, besides designing new infrastructures, she said CLH
has perfected its quality control and assurance systems with the
development of new products, standards, equipment and test
methods: “Thus, we guarantee that any biofuel that enters and
leaves our plants strictly complies with all the legal obligations and
maintains ideal behaviour in any circumstance.”
www.clh.es
Brooge appoints MUC
for Fujairah Phase III
Brooge Energy Limited,
through its whollyowned
subsidiary Brooge
Petroleum and Gas
Investment Company FZE
(BPGIC), has appointed MUC
Oil & Gas Engineering
Consultancy (MUC) to
complete the basic design
for a 180,000 bpd refinery
and front end engineering
design (FEED) study for its
planned Phase III oil storage
terminal in Fujairah, UAE.
Brooge’s Fujairah Phase III will add
an additional storage capacity of
2.1-3.5 million cbm
Brooge said that the studies, which are expected to be completed
within three months, “will develop all necessary technical definition,
cost and schedule estimates for the proposed Phase III facility”.
It added that, on completion, the Phase III facility will add an
additional storage capacity ranging from 2.1 million cbm up to 3.5
cbm of fuel oil, clean products and crude oil. This equates to
approximately three and half times the size of its projected post-
Phase II capacity.
Brooge also aims to include a refinery of up to 180,000 bpd. The
layouts and refining capacity are expected to be finalised upon FEED
Study completion.
Nicolaas L Paardenkooper, CEO of Brooge Energy and BPGIC, said:
“This is a major milestone in the development of the project. MUC
is the same technical advisor that designed the facilities for our
Phase I and Phase II terminals and we are pleased to partner with
them again to advance our plans to develop our Phase III facility,
using the same award-winning technology, technical features and
tank diversification as used in Phase I and Phase II. We believe this
expansion would make us the largest independent oil storage and
service provider in Fujairah.”
www.broogeholdings.com
Luanda fuel stockpile
Sonangol, the Angolan state oil company, has announced it
will be able to use the Pumangol fuel terminal, in Luanda,
to establish a stockpile of fuel.
The announcement came after an agreement was signed with the
Angolan subsidiary of Puma Energy.
Pumangol operates in Angola in the storage and distribution of
fuels, bitumen and asphalt emulsions and derivatives. The agreement
will enable Sonangol to use the facilities at near to their total
capacity, which is estimated at 300,000 cbm, as well as other
logistics options it offers.
Elsewhere in the statement, Sonangol gave assurances that it
remains committed to the construction of the Barra do Dande Ocean
Terminal, which in the province of Malange. It said this venture “will
increase onshore storage capacity and contribute to the creation of a
stockpile of liquid and gaseous fuels for the country”.
www.sonangol.co.ao