03 October 2012 02:00

Today, Vopak Terminal Eemshaven has been inaugurated by Marijke van Beek, Mayor of Eemsmond; Harm D. Post, Director of Groningen Seaports; Jeroen Drost, Chairman and CEO of NIBC; and Eelco Hoekstra, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Royal Vopak. The terminal is located in the port of Eemshaven, part of the Eemsmond municipality in the Netherlands.

This new storage facility, which stores strategic oil reserves for the Netherlands and other EU member states, is a joint venture of Vopak and its partner NIBC European Infrastructure Fund (NEIF) in which both companies are 50% shareholder.

Vopak will operate the new terminal which has an initial storage capacity of 660,000 cubic meters, comprising 11 tanks with a storage capacity of 60,000 cubic meters each, and a jetty for sea-going vessels. This capacity has been rented out for a long-term period and the terminal can be expanded to a total storage capacity of up to 2.76 million cubic meters in the future. The terminal has been designed and will be operated in compliance with European and Dutch environmental standards.

Marijke van Beek, Mayor of Eemsmond: “The arrival of Vopak is for me a symbol of the strength and growth of Eemshaven, an energy port approaching maturity. As a tank storage and transshipment service provider, Vopak can play an important role in the logistic growth of Eemshaven, which will unquestionably take place.”

Harm D. Post, Director of Groningen Seaports: “The arrival of Vopak reinforces Eemshaven as an energy port in the Netherlands. From an economic perspective, this is a very interesting addition to our existing energy activities. Furthermore, Vopak has demonstrated good business practice because of its modern entrepreneurial approach towards environmental organizations.”

Jeroen Drost, Chairman and CEO of NIBC: “The new Vopak storage terminal is another important step for the Netherlands in maintaining a leading global position in oil logistics. NIBC is proud to be a partner in this project, also because it complies with all stringent sustainability and environmental requirements.”

Eelco Hoekstra, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Vopak: “We are very pleased with the opening of this special terminal, the 84th addition to Vopak’s worldwide network of tank storage terminals. For Vopak this is the first terminal built for strategic oil reserves and it was developed after constructive consultation with all stakeholders, including NGOs, which was particularly important in light of the proximity to the ‘Waddenzee’ nature reserve. Vopak again demonstrated that it has been able to construct and commission the terminal safely, according to schedule, and within budget.”

Company profiles

NIBC European Infrastructure Fund
NIBC European Infrastructure Fund (NEIF) is a fund investing in member states of the European Union with a focus on North West Europe. The core investor base of the Fund consists of large Benelux pension funds and financial institutions, including NIBC Bank NV. NIBC Infrastructure Partners is the general partner of NEIF and is responsible for all investment and divestment decisions of the Fund. The general partner has team members located in The Hague, London and Frankfurt.

The Fund’s objective is to generate long term stable and predictable cash flows and returns for its investors through long term direct investment in corporate and project-based infrastructure assets. The Fund’s core sectors of investment are oil and gas storage and distribution facilities, renewable energy, waste management, roads and transportation infrastructure and social infrastructure. 

Royal Vopak
Royal Vopak is the world's largest independent tank storage service provider, specializing in the storage and handling of bulk liquid chemicals, gasses and oil products. Vopak operates 84 terminals with a storage capacity of 29.9 million cbm in 31 countries. The terminals are strategically located for users along 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.

For more information:

Royal Vopak
Global Communication & Investor Relations
Gerbert van Genderen Stort
Telephone : +31 (0)10 400 2786
E-mail : global.communication@vopak.com 
Website : www.vopak.com

NIBC European Infrastructure Fund
NIBC Corporate Communications
Diederik Heinink
Telephone : +31 (0)70 342 5625
E-mail :info@nibc.com 
Website : www.nibc.com