Plans are taking shape for big new petroleum terminals in Far East Asia.
A multinational group led by Kuo International, Singapore, plans to build a large crude oil storage terminal on Indonesia's Karimun Island at a cost of $281 million.
Shell Hong Kong plans with two Chinese partners to construct a refined products terminal at Huizhou, China, at a cost of $131 million.
Kuo plans to team up with another Singapore company and several foreign partners, along with Indonesia's Pertamina, to construct the Karimun Island terminal.
Negotiations on the joint venture agreement are under way. The agreement is expected to be complete in the second or third quarter.
Partners under consideration are Sembawang, Singapore, Van Ommeren Terminals, Netherlands, an undisclosed Japanese company, and a Kuwaiti entity--either Kuwait Petroleum Co. or the Kuwait Investment Office.
If negotiations proceed smoothly, the Karimun terminal could be on stream by yearend 1994. It will have capacity of about 9.45 million bbl of oil on a 2,500 acre site.
Soil studies and preliminary engineering studies have been completed to determine suitability of the site for oil related activities. The site also is under consideration for construction of a refinery.
Sembawang is promoting development of the Karimun site as an integrated petroleum complex encompassing the terminal, refinery, petrochemical plants, shipyards wharves, and engineering and fabrication facilities.
Shell and Huizhou's municipal government approved a feasibility study of the Huizhou terminal, on the Quanwan peninsula about 70 km from Hong Kong, to store refined products and liquefied petroleum gas.
The study is expected to be complete in 4-6 months. Shell hopes to begin shipping products into the port by yearend 1993.
Included are plans for expansion of a port near Ao Tou on the western coast of Daya Bay, about 40 km south of Huizhou.
Existing facilities can handle tankers of 5,000 dwt or smaller. Plans call for expansion to accommodate tankers of 30,000 dwt later.
Shell has not determined a source of product imports but Singapore and Philippines are under consideration.
If the project moves forward, Shell will take a 50% interest with the remaining interest split evenly between China Offshore Gas Utilization Corp. and Huizhou Quanwan Industrial Corp.
The terminal is not related to Shell's proposed $2.5 billion joint venture refinery and petrochemical plant project east of Ao Tou.
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