The first in a series of diesel shipments are now being stored on site at Thames Oilport. A joint venture between Greenergy and Shell, Greenergy now owns two thirds with Shell retaining its one third shareholding Last Wednesday (6th April) Thames Oilport took receipt of the first in a series of diesel shipments to be stored on site. The arrival of these shipments is a major milestone that brings fuel into the terminal for the first time since the closure of the Coryton refinery. The development of Thames Oilport is being carried out in phases. The current phase brings into use 176,000 cbm of tankage, which Greenergy will use for diesel storage to take advantage of the contango market conditions. It follows extensive refucrbishment of tanks in the east part of the site ranging in size from 24-39,000 cbm, as well as redevelopment and automation of a complex pumping exchange and a network of piping connecting the tanks to the Thames jetty. At this stage of Thames Oilport’s development, fuel is being moved into and out of the terminal by ship. The works have been carried out by the team employed at Thames Oilport, supported by contractors carrying out a range of specialist functions including engineering, fabrication, cable installation, piping modifications and tank repair. This site-experienced team will now continue to work to complete the next phase, adding a further 64,000 cbm of sotage by the third quarter of 2016. “Everyone here is delighted to have oil back on the site at last,” said Chris Brookhouse, chief executive of Thames Oilport who joined Greenergy in January 2105 as director of infrastructure. “There has been a lot of activity to prepare for this day and there’s a lot more still to do. We have a route-map to continue to develop the facility, and we’ll be bringing more tankage into use by the end of the year and adding more capability thereafter.”www.greenergy.com

Win an iPad mini 2 at FPS EXPO 2016 – to take part in the competition visit Mabanaft on stand number 39 Mabanaft’s competition at FPS EXPO always goes down well with visitors and this year the emphasis will be firmly on FUN. Visitors to the Mabanaft stand will be invited to play an iPad game. Participants will get one practice run, then three goes at playing the game and their highest score will be recorded. At the end of the competition the person with the highest recorded score will win. Since practice helps perfect this type of skill, avid gamers may be at an advantage. In order to redress the balance, one other participant’s name will be randomly selected to win the runner-up prize regardless of their score. “We wanted to come up with something a bit different this year and we think the iPad game will prove very popular,” said marketing manager Martin Cook. “I’ve tried the game out and it’s certainly addictive! The person with the highest score will win an iPad mini 2 and there will be a fabulous box of Hotel Chocolat chocolates for the runner up.” Visit Mabanaft on stand 39 where a member of the team will take your details, record your top score and give you a bag of goodies as a thank you for taking part. The competition closes at 1.30pm on Thursday 21st April, the last day of the show. The winner and runner up will be announced and prizes awarded at 2.00pm.www.mabanaft.co.uk

From companies with more than 40 years’ experience to recently established businesses, the latest information on the industry’s products/services can be found at next week’s FPS EXPO in Liverpool.

“We know that ethane from US shale gas has transformed US manufacturing and we are now a step closer to seeing this advantage being brought here to Grangemouth.”Petroineos Fuels will be exhibiting at FPS EXPO 2016 Eight years after being mothballed, INEOS has confirmed that it has successfully completed operational trials on the second manufacturing unit (Train 2) of its gas cracker at Grangemouth. In 2008 the KG ethylene cracker was unable to operate at full capacity and INEOS was left with no option but to close the second manufacturing unit.

“These new vehicles will give our customers the ability to react to a changing market place,” says Wincanton’s managing director Chris Fenton Wincanton will be showcasing its new EnergyLink service at next month’s FPS EXPO. EnergyLink is a UK-wide network to support greater flexibility in delivery services for the energy sector and will be on show alongside other products and services which Wincanton provides to the bulk sector. The launch of EnergyLink will be accompanied by a £5m investment in new assets to provide greater capacity in its growing bulk tanker division in the energy sector. The new equipment is expected to be rolled out in the first quarter of this year and will have a UK wide presence. The services for the fuels, bitumen and oils markets will be available through a flexible contracting model, underpinned by the safety and service credentials established by Wincanton in these markets for more than five decades. “Having worked in fuel and bulk since the 1970s, we have the knowledge to understand what it takes to stay ahead of the curve,” said managing director Chris Fenton. We actively seek to develop and utilise innovative new technologies that add value for our customers and deliver greater efficiencies.” “Through increasing our tanker fleet in the energy sector as well as consistently improving our driver training, we’re addressing the needs of our customers for both today and tomorrow, working on a collaborative basis to ensure that our fleet remains fuel efficient and effective. These new vehicles will give our customers the ability to react to a changing market place.”www.wincanton.co.uk

The new venue – FPS EXPO 2016 takes place on Wednesday 20th & Thursday 21st April at the new Exhibition Centre, Liverpool to register for a FREE place visit www.fpsshow.co.uk With a new venue and an increase in exhibition space, FPS EXPO 2016 has seen exhibition spaces filled faster than ever says the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers. “We’re seeing lots of new companies exhibiting at FPS EXPO as well as companies, which have not exhibited for a number of years, now returning to the show and many are booking much larger stands due to the space available at the new venue,” said Dawn Shakespeare, FPS marketing and events manager. Argent Energy UK, Netwatch Systems, Carbery Plastics, Binboy, British Engineering Services, Ecom Instruments UK, IMA, Fairbanks Environmental, Oriel Systems and WEC Leeds are among the new exhibitors. Some of the biggest names operating in the manufacturing, supply, distribution and technology sectors across the UK and Europe are confirmed including Scania, Wincanton, MAN Truck and Bus, Philips 66, RTN, Kingspan Environmental, Hytek, Emco Wheaton, Pen Underwriting incorporating OAMPS, Williams Tankers, Valero Energy and Mabanaft. FPS EXPO 2016 takes place on Wednesday 20th & Thursday 21st April at the new Exhibition Centre, Liverpool to register for a FREE place visit www.fpsshow.co.uk.

Delighted to have secured the Welcome Break contract, Fairbanks will also be among the exhibitors at FPS EXPO 2016 Welcome Break has signed a three-year contract with Fairbanks for the wetstock management of its 31 petrol filling stations which supply Shell, Texaco and BP branded fuels. Within a few weeks of engaging the Fairbanks service, Welcome Break encountered an issue at a BP site. Reacting instantly, Fairbanks contacted the site by phone, email and text to ensure that the problem was brought to the immediate attention of relevant personnel. “I was very impressed with Fairbanks’ quick response,” said Helen Rounce, forecourt operations manager for Welcome Break. “Within a very short time of the incident occurring, the site received a call from one of Fairbanks’ analysts to raise the alarm and provide practical advice – a complete step change from what we’d experienced with our previous provider. This certainly fills me with confidence that the service delivery from Fairbanks will be of a very high calibre.” “We’re delighted to have secured the Welcome Break contract,” said Matthew Lloyd, Fairbanks UK sales manager. “I’m confident that we will provide an excellent service to Helen and her forecourt network for many years to come.” More than 13,000 stations in 35 countries now benefit from Fairbanks solutions via licensees using the Fairbanks system to manage wetstock across Europe, Canada, Asia and Australia.www.fairbanksglobal.com

StocExpo 2017 takes place on 28-30 March 2017 – for more information email nick@stocexpo.com Record numbers attended StocExpo 2016 in Antwerp earlier this month; the event has seen a 13% increase in visitor numbers since 2013. “Once again StocExpo has surpassed all our expectations,” said Nick Powell, StocExpo & Tank Storage portfolio event manager. “The quality of visitors, which included major names such as Shell, Oiltanking, BP, ExxonMobil, Vopak and LBC Tank Terminals, was exceptional. “And we’re thrilled to announce that 72% of our 150 exhibitors rebooked stands live on the show floor, highlighting just how important the event is for suppliers and buyers. “We far exceeded our own expectations as to how busy we would be, in terms of quality visitors expressing real and current demands for our products and services,” said Alec Keeler, managing director, Loadtec Engineered Systems. Euan Fisher, business development manager at Fort Vale, agreed: “The launch of our new loading arm, Safeload, attracted a large amount of visitors which resulted in some significant future enquiries.” With its mix of global and local talks, Nick Powell reported that this year’s conference programme had received great delegate feedback. Among the speakers was Accenture’s Eduard J. Smits who discussed the convergence of IT and OT in terminal operations.” “As much as we might not like it, data is becoming more important to us every day,” said Eduard. “We need to adjust to today’s real-time processes, and create a culture where everyone within an organisation trusts each other, in order to move forward.” Exhibitors also used the show to launch new products – a new range of mobile vapour combustors from Endegs, Chubb Ajax unveiled its E-FOAM systems; Implico previewed its new OpenTAS and Scully Systems which also celebrated its 80th anniversary at the show, displayed its new Intellitrol2 overfill prevention, static ground proving and vehicle identification control system. For more information email nick@stocexpo.com

New tankers for Gleaner Oils which has around 16,000 regular business customers Family-owned Gleaner Oils has reported a year of real progress during which it undertook a high level of investment in its sites, tanker fleet, IT systems and staffing as it began to implement a new 5-year growth strategy.

Phil Wright, former  chairman of the Airport Energy Group, who retired last year, takes a spin in the new 100% electric powered van The latest addition to the fleet at Airport Energy is an electric powered vehicle.

Livingbridge, a mid-market private equity business, has invested in BoilerJuice.

“The Northampton bunker site is a logistical godsend for our business”, said Dave Corden, transport manager at Panther Warehousing Following an intensive three-month redevelopment project Certas Energy has reopened its key bunkering facility on the outskirts of Northampton, increasing the number of operational bunker sites to 13.

“Our team is always available to discuss options and we remain keen to grow our retail network,” said SB Prasad,  Essar’s chief commercial officer, retail This month Essar Oil (UK) opened its fourth UK retail site at Sale in Cheshire.

Find an OFTEC registered technician at www.oftec.org.uk/Consumers/FindTechnician In the wake of an oil tank fire which destroyed a bungalow in Belvoir, Belfast last week, OFTEC has again issued safety advice to householders.