Aramco Overseas to acquire stake in Rotterdam terminal

Saudi Aramco’s subsidiary Aramco Overseas Company (AOC) has signed an arrangement to acquire physical commodities trading house Gunvor Group’s stake in the Maasvlakte Olie Terminal (MOT) in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Expected to complement Saudi Aramco’s export activities in Europe, the transaction is slated for completion by the end of this month.

The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed by the parties.

Gunvor earned the stake in MOT when it acquired Gunvor Petroleum Rotterdam last year.

The current sale is part the company’s strategy to proceed with the development of its Rotterdam refining operations.

Through the acquisition of stake in MOT, AOC is set to strengthen its current investment portfolio through participation in other facilities in the same area.

Additionally, the transaction will expand the company’s offerings in the North West Europe refining hub and strengthen its supply chain, as well as increase its customer services in the region.

Gunvor invests in industrial infrastructure, including refineries, pipelines, storage, terminals, mining and upstream.

The company also holds a 26% stake in the Ust-Luga Oil products rail and ocean trans-shipment terminal in Russia.

The terminal is estimated to have a capacity of more than 30 million metric tonnes per annum, with a storage capacity of 960,000m³.

AOC, along with BP and Esso, has interest in TEAM Terminal, an oil storage and trans-shipment company in Rotterdam’s Europoort area with a handling capacity of 35 million cubic metres of oil per annum.