Gazprom Neft to fuel Primorsk
Gazprom Neft OJSC plans active development of its bunkering business. In view of its plans the company acquired a number of assets in the port of Primorsk. Gazprom Neft started this business only in the end of the previous year but it plans to cover 30% of Russia’s bunkering market by the end of 2010. Primorsk assets will enable the company to raise its sales to 300,000 tonnes per year. Experts say the interest of vertically integrated companies to bunkering market is a general trend as they try to deliver their product to the end user with overall control of the sales chain.
On Saturday, President of Gazprom Neft OJSC Aleksandr Dyukov confirmed acquisition of a number of assets in the port of Primorsk (Leningrad region) by Gazprom Neft. Mr. Dyukov didn’t reveal all the companies acquired by Gazprom Neft, though having named Transflot as one of them. Earlier, a source in the Leningrad region Government told Interfax that Gazprom Neft acquired 7-8 companies owing the third berth in the port of Primorsk including Primorsk Commercial Seaport LLC, Petrotrans Primorsk, Transflot and Commercial Seaport of Primorsk OJSC. The above acquisitions will enable the company to fuel vessels in the port of Primorsk. In October 2007, Gazprom Neft OJSC established its subsidiary Gazpromneft Marine Bunker LLC for operation at the bunkering market. First bunkering operations were held in the port of St. Petersburg in December 2007.
“Our task is to raise sales to end users,” Aleksandr Dyukov underlined. According to Dyukov, bunkering of vessels is a segment of retail business and the development of it is one of the company’s strategic priorities. “We have started bunkering in St. Petersburg, Murmansk and the Far East and we would like to start bunkering in Primorsk,” he says.
By 2009 the company plans to increase bunker sales to 1.5 million tonnes per year having occupied 30% of Russia bunkering market by 2010. As PortNews IAA learned from Sergei Zelenski, Executive Director of Gazpromneft Marine Bunker the priority ports of the first phase of Gazprom Neft bunkering business development are those of the North-West, Far East and South. “We are sure that in the future we will be able to develop an extensive bunkering network in Russian ports and to increase our presence on the world bunkering market,” Sergei Zelenski said.
The port of Primorsk is the end point of the Baltic Pipeline System. According to St. Petersburg Seaport Administration FSUE, 740 tankers were handled in the port of Primorsk in 2007. The volume of fuel shipped from the port grew by 12%, year-on-year, to 74.2 million tonnes. The construction of the second branch of BPS (BPS-2) will raise the System’s capacity to 120 million tonnes hence the damand for bunker fuel is to grow correspondingly. According to estimations made by the analytical department of PortNews IAA, monthly bunkering in the port of Primorsk makes some 20,000-30,000 tonnes, thus annual sales may amount to 300,000 tonnes with the share of dark fuel exceeding 80%.
The year of 2007 saw entrance of two vertically integrated companies Gazprom Neft and Rosneft to the bunkering market of St. Petersburg. In the nearest future, it s expected that TNK-BP is to appear in this segment as well. According to Vitali Kovalev, President of the Russian Association of Marine and River Bunker Suppliers, oil companies are interested in bunkering business not in Russia alone but in Europe as well as such companies try to deliver their product to the end user with overall control of the sales chain. In this respect the advantage of larger companies is their financial power while independent bunkering companies may be more flexible.
Mariya Mokeicheva
On Saturday, President of Gazprom Neft OJSC Aleksandr Dyukov confirmed acquisition of a number of assets in the port of Primorsk (Leningrad region) by Gazprom Neft. Mr. Dyukov didn’t reveal all the companies acquired by Gazprom Neft, though having named Transflot as one of them. Earlier, a source in the Leningrad region Government told Interfax that Gazprom Neft acquired 7-8 companies owing the third berth in the port of Primorsk including Primorsk Commercial Seaport LLC, Petrotrans Primorsk, Transflot and Commercial Seaport of Primorsk OJSC. The above acquisitions will enable the company to fuel vessels in the port of Primorsk. In October 2007, Gazprom Neft OJSC established its subsidiary Gazpromneft Marine Bunker LLC for operation at the bunkering market. First bunkering operations were held in the port of St. Petersburg in December 2007.
“Our task is to raise sales to end users,” Aleksandr Dyukov underlined. According to Dyukov, bunkering of vessels is a segment of retail business and the development of it is one of the company’s strategic priorities. “We have started bunkering in St. Petersburg, Murmansk and the Far East and we would like to start bunkering in Primorsk,” he says.
By 2009 the company plans to increase bunker sales to 1.5 million tonnes per year having occupied 30% of Russia bunkering market by 2010. As PortNews IAA learned from Sergei Zelenski, Executive Director of Gazpromneft Marine Bunker the priority ports of the first phase of Gazprom Neft bunkering business development are those of the North-West, Far East and South. “We are sure that in the future we will be able to develop an extensive bunkering network in Russian ports and to increase our presence on the world bunkering market,” Sergei Zelenski said.
The port of Primorsk is the end point of the Baltic Pipeline System. According to St. Petersburg Seaport Administration FSUE, 740 tankers were handled in the port of Primorsk in 2007. The volume of fuel shipped from the port grew by 12%, year-on-year, to 74.2 million tonnes. The construction of the second branch of BPS (BPS-2) will raise the System’s capacity to 120 million tonnes hence the damand for bunker fuel is to grow correspondingly. According to estimations made by the analytical department of PortNews IAA, monthly bunkering in the port of Primorsk makes some 20,000-30,000 tonnes, thus annual sales may amount to 300,000 tonnes with the share of dark fuel exceeding 80%.
The year of 2007 saw entrance of two vertically integrated companies Gazprom Neft and Rosneft to the bunkering market of St. Petersburg. In the nearest future, it s expected that TNK-BP is to appear in this segment as well. According to Vitali Kovalev, President of the Russian Association of Marine and River Bunker Suppliers, oil companies are interested in bunkering business not in Russia alone but in Europe as well as such companies try to deliver their product to the end user with overall control of the sales chain. In this respect the advantage of larger companies is their financial power while independent bunkering companies may be more flexible.
Mariya Mokeicheva