Oman Oil Marketing Company (OOMCO) is looking to double its bunker barge capacity before the end of the year to support its marine fuel operations in Omani ports, senior manager for marine and bunkering, Christophe El Kati, has told Bunkerspot.
At the end of 2021, OOMCO opened a new bunker terminal at the Port of Duqm, and in January, the company kicked off bunkering operations in the Port of Sohar with the fuelling of the Sohar LNG by OOMCO’s MT Alpha barge.
According to El Kati, the MT Alpha is due to be joined by an additional bunker barge to support OOMCO’s marine fuel operations across Omani ports.
‘In the next six months, we will have a second barge that will be largely stationed in Sohar and another barge that will be taking care of the supply in Duqm,’ said El Kati.
The decision to deploy an additional bunker barge is in anticipation of increased bunker demand at Omani ports.
‘We just started [bunkering operations] in December and we have had a very good January and we are also having a very good February. Demand is increasing and I am sure that in the next six months we’ll reach very good volumes, so that we can [reach] our storage and barge capacities.’
El Kati said OOMCO’s initial focus is on the ports of Duqm – ‘the strategic port of the government’ – and Sohar, before expanding to other Omani ports, including Sultan Qaboos and Salalah. This range of options, he said, will provide the necessary flexibility which will enable it to compete with the region’s biggest bunker hub: Fujairah. The company is counting on its storage facilities, as well as geographical advantage, to attract marine fuel demand, he explained.
‘In Duqm, we’ve built our own storage with a capacity of 30,000 cbm [20,000 cbm very low sulphur fuel oil and 10,000 cbm low sulphur marine gasoil] which will allow us to play in the economy of scale for bringing very good quality products at very good costs – and the most important thing for the shipowner or the end user is the cost of the bunkering,’ said El Kati.
Located on the southern Omani coast, Duqm also provides an attractive alternative to vessels that would otherwise need to deviate further north up the Gulf of Oman to take on bunkers.
‘The deviation to another place for bunkering will cost money and fuel consumption,’ said El Kati. ‘Another important cost factor to consider is the WRP [War Risk Premium], which is not applicable in our waters. This makes bunkering more economical.’
And with oil prices on the up – crude oil exceeded the $105 per barrel mark for the first time in eight years in late-February – shipowners and operators will have to contend with increasing bunker costs. Is this a cause for concern for a company such as OOMCO, which is aiming to establish itself in the marine fuel sector?
‘It will reduce the credit capacity of the customer,’ said El Kati, adding, ‘but it will affect the world. We will try to keep our volumes increasing to be present in the market.’
El Kati said OOMCO is also actively working to make LNG bunkering available to customers calling Oman. The company’s immediate focus is on developing the necessary infrastructure to be able to load LNG for barges.
‘It will take time, but I believe it can be available in one or two years,’ said El Kati. ‘We would like to have discussions on LNG bunkering with interested customers to make future contracts.’
Asked where this demand for LNG fuel might come from, El Kati pointed out that some of the world’s most high-profile adopters of LNG-fuelled vessels make regular calls to Oman.
‘CMA CGM are calling at Sohar container port, and in the future when Duqm will be operating, it will have a state-of-the-art container terminal. And maybe they [CMA CGM] can call at the Port of Duqm in the near future. It is great to see Hapag-Lloyd and MSC also calling at Omani ports. And in Sultan Qaboos, we have a lot of cruise ships calling.’
‘There is a potential for LNG and Oman can be a good hub of LNG supply,’ El Kati added.
Source: Bunkerspot
