Dutch oil and chemicals storage company Vopak NV (VOPA.AS) said on Thursday it would start the construction of a new storage terminal for oil products in the Port of Amsterdam.
The world's largest independent tank terminal operator said the new terminal, which will be used for the storage and blending of gasoline and other clean oil products, would add 620,000 cubic meters in 2011 and, later, would increase to more than 1.1 million cubic metres.
So far Vopak has announced it would add a total of 2.5 million cubic metres of storage globally in the coming years, of which 300,000 cubic metres was realised in the first quarter of this year.
Thursday's announcement comes on top of the previously announced 2.5 million, a Vopak spokeswoman said, declining to disclose the level of investment for Vopak for the Amsterdam project, which was granted to Dutch builder Royal BAM Group (BAMN.AS).
SNS analyst Danny Van Doesburg said he estimated capital expenditure for Vopak at 300 million euros ($418 million) and that the investment was not without risk.
"Vopak already missed part of the upside in the period 2000-2007, when export of fuel from Amsterdam to, notably, the U.S. was an enormous growth market, indeed," he said.
Mutlu Gundogan at RBS added that two of Vopak's peers, Oiltanking and EuroTank, have expanded and are already constructing tanks specifically for these oil products.
He said he feared gasoline demand in the United States may decrease driven by the shift to smaller vehicles.
"This potential overcapacity could have a negative impact on prices," Gundogan said.
The world's largest independent tank terminal operator said the new terminal, which will be used for the storage and blending of gasoline and other clean oil products, would add 620,000 cubic meters in 2011 and, later, would increase to more than 1.1 million cubic metres.
So far Vopak has announced it would add a total of 2.5 million cubic metres of storage globally in the coming years, of which 300,000 cubic metres was realised in the first quarter of this year.
Thursday's announcement comes on top of the previously announced 2.5 million, a Vopak spokeswoman said, declining to disclose the level of investment for Vopak for the Amsterdam project, which was granted to Dutch builder Royal BAM Group (BAMN.AS).
SNS analyst Danny Van Doesburg said he estimated capital expenditure for Vopak at 300 million euros ($418 million) and that the investment was not without risk.
"Vopak already missed part of the upside in the period 2000-2007, when export of fuel from Amsterdam to, notably, the U.S. was an enormous growth market, indeed," he said.
Mutlu Gundogan at RBS added that two of Vopak's peers, Oiltanking and EuroTank, have expanded and are already constructing tanks specifically for these oil products.
He said he feared gasoline demand in the United States may decrease driven by the shift to smaller vehicles.
"This potential overcapacity could have a negative impact on prices," Gundogan said.