Oiltanking MOGS: Saldanha oil terminal to be built

A commercial crude oil storage and blending terminal with a total capacity of 13.2 million barrels comprising 12 concrete tanks in the port of Saldanha Bay is to be constructed by a joint venture comprising Oiltanking Grindrod Calulo Holdings (OTGC), which is led by Germany’s Oiltanking, and Mining, Oil and Gas Services (MOGS), which is part of Royal Bafokeng Holdings. The development, construction, management and operations of the terminal will be carried out by the new company, Oiltanking MOGS Saldanha, in which MOGS and OTGC will each hold a 50 percent stake. The project was initiated in 2011 by MOGS, which has since completed the prefeasibility studies and design and was in the final stages of obtaining the required statutory approvals. The state-of-the-art facility will have a jetty designed to handle vessels up to very large crude carrier size. The joint venture said yesterday that Saldanha Bay was an excellent location for a crude oil hub as it was close to strategic tanker routes from key oil-producing regions to major consuming markets, making it ideally situated for the blending of west African and South American crude oils. It said the port had the potential to establish itself as a global crude trans-shipment hub. – Roy Cokayne