Imperial Logistics Partners on Largest-Ever Butane River Barge Project
12th December 2017
INEOS has today confirmed it has signed a contract to partner with Imperial Logistics to design and build the largest butane river barges ever used in Europe. These barges will link the world’s largest butane tank being constructed at the Oiltanking Antwerp Gas Terminal (OTAGT) in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, with the INEOS site in Köln to enable one of the largest crackers in Europe to be supplied with large volumes of butane as well as naphtha as a source of feedstock.
Hugh Carmichael, Director INEOS Trading & Shipping, says: “This agreement represents a further step in a strategic investment in the future of our naphtha crackers in Köln. The new butane tank in Antwerp and the Imperial butane river barges will provide INEOS with increased flexibility and security of supply that will significantly improve our competitiveness in Europe. It also positions INEOS as a major player in global LPG markets. We are pleased to work together with Imperial Logistics as a major barge operator in this unique project. Our joint expertise and experience will help make this a successful project.”
Steffen Bauer, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Imperial’s Business Unit Shipping, says: “We are very delighted to be awarded as project partner from INEOS.” He adds: “To design and build the largest butane river barges ever used in Europe, is an extraordinary challenge.”
INEOS continues to invest in supply chain flexibility of its European facilities. Today’s announcement builds on its commitment to invest more than 1 billion USD into the supply of ethane from the USA, securing the competitiveness of its gas crackers in Europe, located at Grangemouth, UK, and Rafnes, Norway.
These new state of the art barges will move about 3,000 tons butane each, which is about three times as much as the current barges move on the Rhine system. The shipyards to build these new barges will be selected in the near future and the barges will be operational in 2019.