Americas News
Aegean to "Integrate Much of the Former OW Bunker Operating Infrastructure in Los Angeles"
Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. [NYSE: ANW] (Aegean) Monday confirmed its intention to expand its physical supply operation to the US West Coast.
"The Company expects to integrate much of the former OW Bunker operating infrastructure in Los Angeles into the Aegean organization and begin operations at the Vopak Terminal in the first quarter of 2015," Aegean said in a statement to investors.
Ship & Bunker previously reported Aegean had been tipped to make the move having bought up bunkers auctioned off by OW Bunker last week, and the supplier has now confirmed that it acquired the entirety of the 28,567 metric tonnes of marine fuel that was offered.
Aegean has also confirmed it has assumed a storage contract with Vopak Terminal Los Angeles.
The total purchase price of the deal was approximately $11 million, it said.
A Landmark Year for Aegean
"This transaction is aligned with Aegean's strategy to opportunistically enter new markets to service unmet and increasing demand, while enhancing shareholder value," said Aegean President E. Nikolas Tavlarios.
"We have focused on building a strong and flexible financial position over the years and as a result were able to act quickly on this unique opportunity to further strengthen and diversify our operating footprint.
"Having a presence at the Vopak Terminal in Los Angeles will substantially broaden Aegean's access to the marine fuel markets of the U.S. west coast, and in so doing round out Aegean's profile as a global marine fuel provider.
"Heading into 2015, which we believe will be a landmark year for Aegean, we intend to continue executing our risk-averse strategy; strengthening our brand, widening our customer base and increasing the scale and efficiency of our logistics network."
Following the recent collapse of OW Bunker, Tavlarios said Aegean was looking to fill some of the void, and was "looking at some of the markets and some of the people."
However Monday's statement did not say whether Aegean plans to take on any OW Bunker staff in the US.
OW Bunker launched its physical operation to Los Angeles and Long Beach earlier this year, with Adrian Tolson, General Manager, OW Bunker – North America, saying that next year it could be a key market for distillate sales thanks to the new Emissions Control Area (ECA) rules coming into force from January 1, 2015.
The U.S. subsidiaries of OW Bunker A/S filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 13, after the collapse of its parent company the previous week.
