Trading in bulk volumes has paid off for Gulf Petrochem. Following a sharp increase in its turnover, from $5.5m in 2003 to $26m in 2006, the company began exploiting its newly added port storage terminal at the Hamriyah Free Zone to handle bulk purchases and sales in vessel-loads. The strategy boosted sales to more than $108m in 2007.

Supporting the storage of vessel loads of feedstock allows Gulf Petrochem to blend products to create customer-specific grades. It also goes a long way in support of its trading arm, offering storage to customers – existing and potential – as a business proposition.

The firms’s entry into oil storage in Fujairah will also allow it to lease space to global operators looking for a presence in the emirate.

Strategically located outside the Strait of Hormuz on the Indian Ocean, the port city is free of piracy risks and is a safe harbour in times of conflict compared with its Gulf counterparts. With almost 40,000 ships passing through each year, Fujairah is the second-largest bunkering centre in the world after Rotterdam. Positioning itself here will put Gulf Petrochem at the heart of the world’s bunkering industry and set the firm for strong growth.