02 March 2007 01:00

Vopak is aware of the reports from drivers who are experiencing fuel related problems with their vehicles after filling up with fuel in the South East of England. The Vopak London storage facility stores various products and services clients involved in the supply of petrol to retail stations in this area. 

Vopak takes the quality of it’s services very seriously and therefore in the last few days we have – in close cooperation with our clients - executed an initial review of our storage and handling operations at the Vopak London  terminal. Vopak wants to emphasise that all activities were conducted in line with standard procedures and customer requirements. 

Early this evening we received a test report from an independent inspection company. Vopak can now conclude that the product as received from one of our customers contains a relatively high level of silicon. This product has been located in four tanks, which are dedicated to one of our clients. These tanks have been isolated. 

We have informed the owner of the product, not being the independent oil company Greenergy, and our other clients accordingly. Vopak has and will continue to fully cooperate with any further investigation into the possible cause of this higher level of silicon in our clients’ product. 

In line with normal industry practice, Vopak as a storage company is not responsible for the quality of products delivered into our facilities. Products distributed from the terminal have to be certified by an independent inspection company. Vopak’s initial conclusion from its investigation is that all products have been certified and that the certification process has been conducted in full compliance with the relevant industry quality standard, BSEN 228. Since March 1, 2007 products leaving the terminal are being tested by all clients on silicon content, in addition to the standard testing procedures. 

Further investigations into this issue are continuing and we will provide an update as soon as more information has become available.

Profile Vopak

Royal Vopak (Vopak) is the world’s largest independent tank terminal operator specialising in the storage and handling of liquid and gaseous chemical and oil products. On request, Vopak can provide complementary logistic services for customers at its terminals. Vopak operates 75 terminals with a storage capacity of more than 20 million cbm in 30 countries. The terminals are strategically located for users and the major shipping routes. The majority of its customers are companies operating in the chemical and oil industries, for which Vopak stores a large variety of products destined for a wide range of industries.