Oiltanking Grindrod Calulo Holdings (OTGC), a subsidiary of Germany’s Oiltanking group, and Mining, Oil & Gas Services (MOGS) will, through a joint venture (JV), construct a R2-billion commercial crude oil storage and blending terminal at the Saldanha Bay port.
The terminal will have a capacity of 13.2- million barrels, comprising twelve 1.1-million-barrel concrete tanks.
The development, construction, management and operation of the terminal will be carried out by a new company, Oiltanking MOGS Saldanha.
MOGS, which initiated the Saldanha Bay project in 2011, has since completed the prefeasibility studies and design of the facility and is currently in the final stages of obtaining the required statutory approvals.
MOGS and OTGC will each have a 50% shareholding in the company, says MOGS executive director Pieter Coetzee.
Construction on the facility will start at the end of the first quarter of next year, he adds.
Saldanha Bay is regarded as the most suitable location for the global crude transshipment hub the JV envisages, as it is close to strategic tanker routes between key oil-producing regions and major oil-consuming markets.
It is, therefore, ideally situated for the blending of West African and South American crude oils, explains Coetzee.
The international clients benefiting from the new facility will include oil refineries in the East, which require a certain type of crude oil, he adds.
The jetty at the new crude oil terminal at the Saldanha Bay port will be designed for handling vessels up to very-large crude carrier size.
OTGC is an independent bulk liquid storage provider in South Africa.
MOGS is a subsidiary of Royal Bafokeng Holdings, and is a black-owned company that provides products and services for the mining, oil and gas services industry in South Africa, Africa and the Middle East.
Oiltanking is a subsidiary of Marquard & Bahls, of Germany. It is the second-largest inde- pendent tank storage provider of petroleum products, chemicals and gases worldwide.
Grindrod South Africa is a South African shipping and logistics company.
Calulo Terminals is a South African black-owned and -controlled investment company focused on the oil and chemicals sectors.
Through direct holdings by Calulo and indirect holding by Grindrod South Africa, the JV will be a fully empowered entity with a level 2 empowerment classification.