C1 Energy (Guangzhou) -- Sep 2, 2010-- Brightoil Petroleum has lately signed a contract with Singapore-based Horizon Terminal to rent 160,000 cu m of heavy oil storage for three years, according to a Singaporean trader. This move increased Brightoil's total storage capacity in Singapore to 200,000 cu m.
A source with Brightoil confirmed this on Thursday, saying that the storage will be used for bunker business.
Brightoil expanded storage capacity in Singapore also for the development of its global oil trading, said some market sources. These tanks will give Brightoil more flexibility in swaps and spot trading, a fuel oil trader noted.
C1 reported earlier that Brightoil became the biggest player in Singapore's fuel oil swaps market in August, taking up about 40% of market share. The company recruited most of BP Singapore's former traders and plans to hire altogether 165 employees in Singapore for swaps and physical trading, also to distribute its trading staff to Europe and U.S.A.
Brightoil has stepped up its expansion in 2010. It started bunker supply in Europe on May 25 and has bought five VLCCs for. In addition, the company has acquired Golden Sea (Zhenjiang) Petrochemical Ltd for 1.485-bil HK dollars and intends to acquire 150,000-cu-m Haineng Oil Tank Farm in Ningbo, East China.
