Energy and commodities company Vitol has signed a new deal with investment firm Prostar Capital to operate the marine fuel bunker supply business of Prostar’s GTI Statia (GTIS) terminal on the island of St Eustatius, a Dutch municipality, in the Caribbean.
Under the terms of the strategic relationship, GTIS will continue to provide storage, services and logistics infrastructure at the site. Vitol will use its global marketing network to expand GTIS’ bunker market, aided by GTIS’ flexible infrastructure.
GTIS serves the cruise and cargo shipping industries the US Gulf Coast and Caribbean, and is positioned along important global and regional shipping lanes. It is one of the largest independent crude and refined product storage terminals in the region, with 60 commercial tanks with a total storage capacity of 14m bbl (2.3m m3). It can accommodate fully laden ultra large crude carrier (ULCC) and very large crude carrier (VLCC) vessels.
‘This strategic relationship allows the facility to focus on being a world-class terminal operator and will leverage our strategic vision to enhance the service, quality and value of the facility and the bunker business,’ says John Roller, President and CEO of GTI Statia. ‘With its strong track record of delivering solutions and managing major end-to-end customer experience, we know that Vitol will continue to bring value to our terminal business.’
Steve Bickerton, Prostar Senior Managing Director, said that the new transaction demonstrated Prostar’s commitment both to the terminal and the local economy.
