Trafigura to invest in improving Berbera Oil Terminal to become a regional supply hub with the support of the Government of Somaliland
Trafigura Group Pte Ltd., a market leader in the global commodities industry, has this week delivered a first shipment of low sulphur gasoil to the Port of Berbera, following the signing of a milestone storage agreement earlier this year with the Government of Somaliland’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, the company said in its release. This is the first step in a commitment by Trafigura to invest in Berbera Oil Terminal (“BOT”) facilities to position it as a gateway to serve customers within the country, and integrate oil logistics across the Horn of Africa.
Trafigura, with the full support of the Government, intends to upgrade BOT in a phased approach to improve and expand the storage capacity, and eventually facilitate the import of jet fuel and LPG to meet local and regional demand whilst ensuring international health and safety standards. Plans also include increasing the draft to enable larger vessels to be received and allow local traders more economical import of refined products and access to re-export markets. This will help support the Somaliland Government’s ambition to transform Berbera port as a strategic hub in a region where demand is growing year on year.
Founded in 1993, Trafigura is one of the largest physical commodities trading groups in the world. Trafigura sources, stores, transports and delivers a range of raw materials (including oil and refined products and metals and minerals) to clients around the world. The trading business is supported by industrial and financial assets, including a majority ownership of global zinc and lead producer Nyrstar which has mining, smelting and other operations located in Europe, Americas and Australia; a significant shareholding in global oil products storage and distribution company Puma Energy; global terminals, warehousing and logistics operator Impala Terminals; Trafigura's Mining Group; and Galena Asset Management. The Company is owned by around 700 of its 8,000 employees who work in 80 offices in 41 countries around the world. Trafigura has achieved substantial growth over recent years, growing revenue from USD12 billion in 2003 to USD171.5 billion in 2019. The Group has been connecting its customers to the global economy for more than two decades, growing prosperity by advancing trade.
